CHARLES LORING ELLIOTT | PORTRAIT OF JOHN BIGELOW

Collection of John Morehead, New York

M. Knoedler & Co, New York

Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1969

The sitter in the present work is politician and author John Bigelow (1817-1911). During his earlier career as a journalist, Bigelow became co-owner and editor of the New York Evening Post in 1848. He would later serve as editor at the New York Times in 1869. A reformed Democrat and proponent of the Union’s anti-slavery agenda, Bigelow was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln as American Council in Paris in 1861. During his time abroad in France, he was crucial in cementing European allies to help promote the Union cause and weaken the Confederate party’s appeal for aid in the American Civil War. Having returned to New York in 1875, Bigelow was appointed New York Secretary of State and was involved in the founding of The New York Public Library. John Bigelow Plaza was named in his memory in front of the library at the corner of 41^st street and Fifth Avenue.