CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
James Madison (1751–1836) was one of the most influential and successful Virginians of the Revolutionary generation. His service in the House of Delegates and in the Continental Congress taught him the pragmatic political practices he drew on to help create the new nation. In addition to helping write the first two Constitutions of Virginia and securing the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he helped write the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. Famously remembered as the "Father of the Constitution," Madison drafted the Virginia Plan presented at the 1787 Constitutional Convention that formed the general outline of the Constitution's structure. He helped secure its ratification as one of the authors of the Federalist Papers, which provided the most thorough and persuasive analysis of the Constitution. A leading statesman of the United States, he served as secretary of state (1801–1809) and as the fourth president (1809–1817). He and his wife Dolley Payne Todd lived at his Orange County home, Montpelier, where more than a hundred enslaved men, women, and children labored to produce tobacco and wheat.
This portrait of James Madison was painted by Virginia artist William Ludwell Sheppard in 1901. It was based on Thomas Sully's 1809 copy of Gilbert Stuart's 1804 portrait of Madison.
Citation: Portrait of James Madison, 1901, by William L. Sheppard after Thomas Sully after Gilbert Stuart. State Art Collection of Virginia. Lab#:07_0978_ART026_01.
Related documents: Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution
Standards
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the portrait. What do you notice about the subject? How is he dressed? What does his expression reveal?
Post Activities
Analyze: Examine this picture. Based on your previous knowledge, why do you think the artist chose to paint a portrait of James Madison so many years after his death? Explain.
Social Media Spin: If this portrait was Madison’s “Selfie,” what #hashtags would he use?