Samuel Adams, copy of 1858 engraving after Alonzo Chappel

What it is

This is a copy of an 1858 engraving of Samuel Adams, after an original by Alonzo Chappel. The record dates this copy to between 1931 and 1932. It shows a standing older man with white hair, a dark coat, waistcoat, knee breeches and buckled shoes. He leans one hand on a cane and rests the other on the back of an upholstered chair. A small table with papers stands at left, and a folded paper lies on the floor at the bottom.

Why it matters

Images like this one were reused for decades, so many people met Adams through copies rather than originals. The props, such as the papers and the chair, were chosen by the artist to suggest a public man of affairs. This is a secondary likeness made long after the events it suggests.

Look closer

• What do the cane, chair and papers suggest about Adams, and are they shown as facts or as symbols?
• Why might a later artist choose a full-length pose over a head-and-shoulders portrait?
• How does making a copy of a copy change what viewers learn about the original?