Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePainting1879

William Henry Harrison, by Eliphalet Frazer Andrews

Eliphalet Frazer Andrews · 1879

A posthumous official White House portrait of William Henry Harrison, painted decades after his death based on an earlier 1840 portrait.

This is the official posthumous White House portrait of Harrison, made to commemorate him after his death.

Ask William Henry Harrison about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Oil portrait of an older man with white-streaked dark hair, wearing a black coat, white shirt collar, and black cravat against a dark brown background. He looks toward the viewer with a serious expression.
Eliphalet Frazer Andrews, William Henry Harrison, 1879, after James Henry Beard's 1840 portrait. White House Collection.

About this source

What it is

This oil-on-canvas portrait of President William Henry Harrison was painted by Eliphalet Frazer Andrews in 1879, based on an earlier 1840 portrait by James Henry Beard. It shows Harrison in a black coat with a white collar and black cravat. The frame's plate notes his birth and the dates of his brief presidency, from March 4 to April 4, 1841.

Why it matters

Harrison served as president for just over a month, the shortest term in U.S. history, before dying in office. Before his presidency he had been a military officer, serving at the Battle of Tippecanoe and in the War of 1812. This portrait, made nearly four decades after his death, shows how the nation chose to remember him as a dignified statesman despite his short time in office. His grandson Benjamin Harrison later also became president.

Look closer

  • Why might the White House have commissioned a new portrait so long after Harrison's death?
  • What does the serious, formal pose suggest the painter wanted viewers to feel about Harrison?
  • What does this portrait leave out about the brevity and circumstances of his presidency?

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

More William Henry Harrison sources

Meet the AI William Henry Harrison →
Speech

Primary source

Inaugural Address of William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison · 4 March 1841

Handwritten copy of a letter from the War Department dated July 15, 1809, addressed to His Excellency Wm. H. Harrison. It instructs him on negotiating the extinguishment of Indian title to lands east of the Wabash, referencing the Treaties of Fort Wayne and Grouseland, and states terms for compensation, chiefs' presence, installments, and expenses. Ink on cream paper.Document

Primary source

Treaty of Fort Wayne

1809

Black and white lithograph of a log cabin with an American flag reading Harrison and Tyler, a chimney smoking, a barrel of cider outside, and a coonskin on the wall. A man in a top hat stands with a cane and dog beside a younger man in a doorway. Trees and a river are in the background.Painting

Primary source

Harrison at cabin on North Bend of Ohio

Thomas Sinclair · 1840

Printed broadside of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, titled 'An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio.' Dense block of small black printed text in paragraphs on a light paper, with the heading in large capital letters at top.Document

Primary source

Northwest Ordinance

Confederation Congress · 13 July 1787

Oil portrait of a man with brown hair, turned three-quarters to the left, wearing a dark navy military coat with gold embroidered laurel-leaf trim, gold epaulettes, and a high white collar with a dark stock. He holds a gold-hilted sword with arms crossed against a cloudy sky.Painting

Primary source

William Henry Harrison

Rembrandt Peale · 1813

Ready when you are

Start chatting with William Henry Harrison now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions