James Edward Kelly, born New York City - Major General David Sloan Stanley - 1892 - T-Shirt

This charcoal and chalk profile portrait shows Union Major General David Sloan Stanley in uniform, facing left, and is signed by James Edward Kelly.

Visual Elements & Composition

Warm grey paper fills most of the frame, and graphite black carries the drawing: the thinning hair swept back over the crown, the ear, and the long beard falling below the jaw. Pale white chalk lifts the brow and cheek. The high dark collar and uniform sit in heavy shadow, while two star-shaped insignia rest on the shoulder strap and a star-shaped badge hangs on the breast from a ribbon. In the lower right, a handwritten inscription reads in part "D.S. Stanley, Maj. Genl.", with the artist's signature and date at the right edge.

Meaning & Symbolism

The shoulder stars and high collar mark the rank that defined Stanley's career. A Union officer, he served with cavalry in the Western theater before commanding infantry, including a corps during the fighting around Franklin and Nashville in late 1864. The drawing presents him as a commander rather than in the midst of action, in the sober profile format used to record officers of the period. James Edward Kelly (1855-1933), a New York illustrator, painter and sculptor known for city life drawings, applied this precise shading and bright chalk to Civil War figures. The original is held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection.

Wearing the Portrait

A profile portrait needs room to read, and the front of a tee gives it a full chest-width field, so the officer's head and shoulders sit where the eye lands first. The inscription and signature stay near the lower edge, where they read like a signature on a printed page. Because the drawing is dignified rather than busy, its chalk highlights reward a closer look.