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 19^th 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.