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Primary sourcePaintingprobably 1862 or before

Portrait of Martin Van Buren by Daniel Huntington

Daniel Huntington · probably 1862 or before

A life portrait of an elderly Martin Van Buren, painted by Daniel Huntington.

A life portrait of Van Buren as an elderly man, showing how he was depicted late in life.

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Oil painting of an elderly bald man with white hair at the sides, wearing a dark jacket, white cravat and high collar, seated in a upholstered chair with a folded paper in his hands against a dark background.
Daniel Huntington, Portrait of Martin Van Buren, probably 1862 or before.

About this source

What it is

This oil painting by the artist Daniel Huntington shows Martin Van Buren as an elderly man, seated and holding a folded paper. It was painted in or before 1862, from life, showing Van Buren late in his years.

Why it matters

Portraits like this one shaped how the public remembered former presidents. Huntington was a well-known American portrait painter, and this image shows Van Buren not as the youthful statesman of his presidency but as an older statesman reflecting on his career.

Look closer

  • What does Van Buren's pose and expression suggest about how he wanted to be remembered?
  • Why might an artist choose to paint a former president holding a document?
  • What details in the painting hint at Van Buren's status and personality?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Martin Van Buren on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Inaugural Address of Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren · 4 March 1837

Black and white daguerreotype portrait of an elderly man with white hair, seated and facing slightly toward the viewer, wearing a dark coat, high white collar, and dark cravat. He has a faint smile. A dark border frames the image and handwritten caption text appears along the bottom.Photograph

Primary source

Daguerreotype Portrait of Martin Van Buren

Mathew Benjamin Brady · c. 1849–1850

Oil portrait of a bald older man with reddish-gray side hair and light eyes, wearing a dark high-collared coat and white collar, against a near-black background. He faces the viewer with a slight smile.Painting

Primary source

Martin Van Buren

Henry Inman · 1837

Front cover of a dark green cloth-bound book. A gold-stamped rectangular border frames the title reading 'The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren' with the line 'Edited by John C. Fitzpatrick' beneath it.Book

Primary source

The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren · 1854–1862 (published 1920)

Brown cloth book cover with a Library of Congress call number label reading E 420 .F88 at top left, and a white Library of Congress barcode label reading 00005023312 with a red dot at lower left.Document

Secondary source

1848 Free Soil and Liberty National Conventions

1848

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