25 1/4 x 36 in. (64.1 x 91.4 cm)
Framed: 37 x 48 in. (94 x 121.9 cm)
Accession Number
2004.003.003
Credit Line
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
Object Details
Part of the 1870 House Committee on Military Affairs commission, Seth Eastman’s scene of New York Harbor’s Fort Lafayette situates the viewer behind a plump, relaxed figure in an eye-catching red vest, inviting quiet contemplation of the landscape. First constructed in 1812, this fort was renamed after the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825. Like the subjects of several other paintings in this series, it was an infamous Civil War prison, keeping Confederate prisoners of war until October 1865.
