Secretary of the Treasury Portraits
The Portrait Collection
Sec. John Sherman
George P.A. Healy
Oil on canvas
1881
65 x 55 ½ x 5”
P.1880.5
Biographies & Portraits of Treasury Secretaries
The Secretary of the Treasury
portraits were first acquired by the Treasury Department in the 1870's. Treasury
Secretary John Sherman (1877-1881) standardized the size and format of the
portraits at three-quarter length and life size, stipulating that the paintings,
"...will be obtained from competent artists for $500." This was a significant
commission at the time, and allowed for Treasury to acquire works from prominent
and professionally trained artists. They included such eminent portrait painters
as George Healy, Eastman Johnson, Philipp de Laszlo, Theobald Chartran and
Pilides Costa.
While the present Treasury
Secretary portraits are painted from life, many of the earlier portraits were
copied from pre-existing portraits and later, photographs. The majority of
these copies were made during the late 19th century when the Treasury
Department systematically acquired a likeness of every former Secretary, establishing
a complete representation for this high-ranking Cabinet office.
The Secretary portraits are displayed throughout the Treasury Building's third floor corridors.
About the Office of the Secretary
As the Chief Financial
Officer of the government, the Secretary serves as Chairman Pro Tempore of
the President's Economic Policy Council, Chairman of the Boards and Managing
Trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds, U.S. Governor of
the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for the Reconstruction
and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development
Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
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