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Primary sourcePaintingbetween 1835 and 1856

William Henry Harrison campaign print, N. Currier

N. Currier · between 1835 and 1856

A hand-coloured lithograph campaign portrait of Harrison published by N. Currier, showing him seated at a desk. It was made for the 1840 election.

Shows how Harrison was portrayed to voters in the 1840 election, as a seated, dignified statesman.

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Hand-colored lithograph portrait of a man with white hair in a dark coat, white cravat, and gold-hilted sword, seated at a desk with a quill pen, books, and green drapery behind him. Caption below reads William Henry Harrison, Ninth President of the United States.
N. Currier, William Henry Harrison, Ninth President of the United States, hand-coloured lithograph, published between 1835 and 1856.

About this source

What it is

This is a hand-coloured lithograph portrait published by N. Currier of New York. It shows Harrison seated at a desk with a quill pen, books, and green drapery behind him, wearing a dark coat, a white cravat, and a gold-hilted sword. The caption reads 'William Henry Harrison, Ninth President of the United States.' The print is dated only as between 1835 and 1856, and the curator's note links it to the 1840 election.

Why it matters

Campaign prints like this one were made to shape how voters saw a candidate. Harrison ran in 1840, and this print presents him as a dignified, studious figure at his writing desk. Currier produced many prints of this kind for a wide public, so the image shows how a campaign wanted its candidate to be seen by ordinary people.

Look closer

  • Which objects does the artist place around Harrison, and what might each one say about him?
  • Why might a campaign choose a seated, writing pose for its candidate?
  • What does this portrait leave out about Harrison's life or his opponents?

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.

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