Memorial Hall Paintings
Overview
The collection currently on display consists of paintings and drawings almost exclusively, related to the Civil War period. All of the paintings and drawings in Memorial Hall reside in Annenberg Hall. Twelve of the fourteen paintings and drawings on the south wall depict Civil War soldiers. The most popular pieces include a portrait of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw whose leadership of the first black regiment in the northern states, the 54th Massachusetts volunteers, is depicted in the film Glory and the largest portrait in the collection, depicting the brothers George Foster Hodges and William Townsend Hodges (left). The North Wall reflects the Civil War period through portraiture of benefactors, political and academic leaders of the era.
Early photographs and documents reveal that at the time of the dedication of the Great Hall in 1874, the room was decorated with more than fifty-five portrait paintings and that by the end of the century the number had increased to eighty-three and included almost all of Harvard’s collection of portraits. By the 1930’s, a large number of portraits had left Memorial Hall for new buildings. At the same time, other portraits were being given to the University, often by friends and families of Civil War soldiers.
Annenberg Hall South Wall
Stephen Coit, ’71 M.B.A. ’77
American, b. 1948
Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck
Oil on Canvas
First Native American to graduate from Harvard College, 1665
Harvard Foundation Portraiture Project
Image provided by artist, Stephen Coit ”71 M.B.A. ’77.
All rights reserved.
Frank Weston Benson
American, 1862-1951
Edward Barry Dalton (1834-1873), 1892
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1855; Surgeon, 36th New York Volunteers
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Loan from Philip S. Dalton
Joseph Alexander Ames, replica
American, 1816-1872
Theodore Parkman (1837-1862)
Oil on canvas
Student in the Department of Chemistry, 1861;
Color Sergeant, 45th Massachusetts Volunteers; died at Whitehall, N.C., 1862
Harvard University Portrait Collection,
Gift of Mary R. Parkman and Mrs. Alice Parkman Carter
sisters of Theodore Parkman, 1897
Frank Russell Green
American, 1856-1940
Joseph Hayes (1835-1912)
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1855; Major General, U.S. Volunteers
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of Joseph A. Blake, 1914
Horace R. Burdick
American, 1844-1942
Robert Gould Shaw (1837-1863), 1895
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1860; Colonel, 54th Massachusetts Infantry (first free black regiment);
died at Fort Wagner, S. C., 1863
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of Mrs. Francis C. Barlow, 1906
William Sharp
American, flourished c.1838-1885
George Foster Hodges (1837-1862) and William Townsend Hodges (died 1865), 1866
Oil on canvas
George Hodges: A.B. 1855; A.M.; LL.B. 1860;
Adjutant, 18th Massachusetts Volunteers; died of sickness, 1862
William Hodges: Captain, 3rd Massachusetts Cavalry; died at High Bridge, Va., 1865
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of Anne C. Hodges, 1935
Eastman Johnson
American, 1824-1906
Wilder Dwight (1833-1862), 1863
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1853; LL.B. 1855; Lieutenant Colonel, 2nd Massachusetts Volunteers;
died at Antietam, 1862
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of the children of Mrs. William Dwight, 1884
William Henry Furness
American, 1827-1867
James Savage, Jr. (1832-1862)
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1854; A.M.; Lieutenant-Colonel, 2nd Massachusetts Infantry;
died at Cedar Mountain, 1862
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Bequest of Mrs. William B. Rogers, 1911
Clinton Peters
American, dates unknown
Henry Sanford Gansevoort (1834-1871), 1907
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1855 Princeton; LL.B. 1858; Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of Mrs. Abraham Lansing, sister of General Gansevoort, 1907
S.J.F. Johnston
American
Henry Ware Hall (1839-1864)
Black chalk on brown wove paper
A.B. 1860; Adjutant, 51st Illinois Infantry; died at Kenesaw Mountain, Ga., 1864
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of Miss Mary L. Hall, sister of Lieutenant Hall, 1914
Samuel Worcester Rowse
American, 1822-1901
Howard Dwight (1837-1863)
Black chalk and graphite on tan wove paper
A.B. 1857; Assistant Adjutant General, U.S. Volunteers;
died at Bayou Boeuf, La., 1863
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of the Class of 1857, 1886
Thomas Murphy Johnston
American, 1834-1869
Thomas Bayley Fox, Jr. (1839-1863)
Black and white chalk on brown wove paper A.B. 1860;
Captain, 2nd Massachusetts Infantry; died at Gettysburg, 1863 Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of the Reverend Charles A. Humphreys, 1914
William Frederick Milton (1837-1905)
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1858; First Lieutenant, 20th Massachusetts Infantry
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of Mrs. Cavalier Smith and Mrs. Joseph H. Raymond in accordance with their sister’s wish, the late Mrs. William F. Milton, 1926
Stephen Coit, ’71, M.B.A. ’77
American, b. 1948
Dr. S. Allen Counter
Oil on Canvas
Dr. S. Allen Counter (1944 – 2017), Professor of Neurology and founding Director of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations.
Dr. Counter was a distinguished member of the Harvard community for over three decades. Beloved teacher to generations of students at Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, an internationally recognized scientist, and award winning humanitarian.
As the Director of The Harvard Foundation, he dedicated his career to promoting diversity and inter cultural understanding to the Harvard community and beyond.
Harvard Foundation Portraiture Project
Image provided by artist, Stephen Coit ’71 M.B.A. ’77.
All rights reserved.
Annenberg Hall North Wall
Artist unknown
American, 19th century
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
Oil on canvas
President of the United States, 1860-1865
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Bequest of William Whiting Nolen, 1925
Nahum B. Onthank
American, 1823-1888
Charles Sumner (1811-1874), 1868
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1830; LL.B. 1834; LL.D. 1859 ; U.S. Senator,1851-1874; statesman
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of Arthur Onthank, son of the artist, 1927
Darius Cobb, replica
American, 1834-1919
John Albion Andrew (1818-1867), 1894-95
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1837 Bowdoin; LL.D. 1861 (Hon.); Governor of Massachusetts, 1861-1866;
Overseer 1867
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of Darius Cobb, 1898
Stephen Coit, ’71
American, b. 1948
Richard Theodore Greener (1844-1922)
Oil on canvas
First African American student to receive an A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1870
First black faculty member at University of South Carolina; developed the Classics Department and earned a degree in law. Dean of the Howard University School of Law, 1878
Harvard Foundation Portraiture Project
Image provided by artist, Stephen Coit ’71. All rights reserved.
William Page
American, 1811-1885
Charles Greely Loring (1794-1867)
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1812; LL.D. 1850; Fellow 1838-1857; lawyer;
first Chairman of the Memorial Hall Committee of Fifty
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of the children of Charles G. Loring, 1877
Gustav Richter
German, 1823-1884
George Bancroft (1800-1891)
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1817; LL.D. 1843; Tutor 1822-1823; Overseer 1843-1849; historian;
Secretary of the Navy; Minister to London and Prussia; chosen by Congress to present the eulogy at Lincoln’s funeral
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Bequest of George Bancroft, 1891
Marie Danforth Page, copied in 1902 from an original by Sarah Whitman American, 1890-1940
Henry Bromfield Rogers (1802-1887), 1881
Oil on canvas
A.B. 1822; A.M.; lawyer and benefactor;
Chairman of the Memorial Hall Building Committee
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Gift of M.A.P. Rogers
Annenberg Hall East Wall
Napoleon Sarony
Joseph Bridgham Curtis (1836-1862)
Black and white chalk on tan wove paper
B.S. 1856; Lieutenant Colonel, 4th Rhode Island Infantry;
died at Fredericksburg, Va., 1862
Harvard University Portrait Collection
Loan from Bridgham Curtis, 1933
E. J. Chasseur
Depot Field Hospital, Army of the Potomac, Near City Point, Virginia
Lithograph on tan wove paper