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Sunday, October 22, 2006The rich were lucky. They could afford the best artists to render themselves beautiful. (And wouldn't the artist be motivated to show their subjects in the best light so they could get referrals for more paintings from their friends?) But photography did away with all that conceit. Consider these portraits made at the dawn of photography: Ulysses S. Grant: William Tecumseh Sherman: (I don't think the ravages of Civil War made him look this way. The information placard next to the painting in the National Portrait Gallery says that the artist was somewhat intimidated by him at first because of his reputation during the war.) Abraham Lincoln: Which makes me wonder how this beautiful artist really looked. posted by Sydney on 10/22/2006 09:55:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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