Keywords: Ulysses S Grant by William F Cogswell, 1868.jpg Artwork Creator William F Cogswell Ulysses S Grant 1868 oil on canvas cm 73 7 61 White House Washington D C United States Notes from Kloss William et al Art in the White House A Nation's Pride Washington D C The White House Historical Association 2008 <br> Artist William Cogswell painted this portrait of President Ulysses S Grant the year before Grant began his first term in office According to Laura Cooke the widow of Henry Cooke the original owner of the portrait Cogswell worked in a studio improvised at the Cooke family home in Washington D C Grant was an intimate friend and frequent visitor there Laura Cooke reportedly termed the painting a most speaking likeness to the General so considered by himself and all who saw it Henry Cooke ™s brother New York financier Jay Cooke called the Cogswell portrait the best picture of Grant in existence The Senate acquired the painting in 1886 one year after Grant ™s death A favorite during the Grant administration the self-trained Cogswell also painted a large group portrait of the president and his family now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution The artist had a studio in New York City for many years and also traveled extensively; in Hawaii he painted portraits of King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani Cogswell portrayed other prominent individuals including President William McKinley General Philip Sheridan naturalist Louis Agassiz California Governor Leland Stanford and banker Jay Cooke The official White House portrait of Abraham Lincoln as selected by President Grant was painted by Cogswell; it remains in the White House collection The United States Senate PD-art Other versions http //www senate gov/artandhistory/art/artifact/Painting_31_00009 htm PD-old-100 1868 portrait paintings Paintings of Ulysses S Grant William F Cogswell |