Alexander Hamilton

John Trumbull

National Gallery of Art

Shown from the chest up, a pale-skinned, clean-shaven man wearing black looks off to our left against a dark brown background in this vertical portrait painting. His shoulders are angled to our left and he gazes off with steady, dark eyes. He has low, dark brows, a bumped nose, a strong jaw, a pointed chin, and his lips curl in a slight smile. His gray hair is brushed back from his forehead and gathered loosely at the nape of his neck. The sideburn we can see is a row of gray curls angling down over the ear. A cream-white ascot is tied in a bow around his neck and tucked into the collar of his black coat. His left arm, closer to us, is by his side and his other arm is held out so it angles into the lower left corner. Light from our left creates an amber glow around his face on the otherwise dark background.