James Buchanan

Henry Dexter, born Nelson, NY 1806-died Cambridge, MA 1876 · ca. 1859

Henry Dexter’s project to create a portrait gallery of the president and all the governors was long and arduous. He undertook extensive travel during a time of war and his working method involved creating multiple copies. The first step was modeling the portrait from life and casting it in plaster. He would later make a copy in marble for public display.