31 1/4 x 26 1/8 in. (79.4 x 66.4 cm)
Framed: 42 x 36 7/8 x 3 1/2 in. (106.7 x 93.7 x 8.9 cm)
Accession Number
2005.016.013
Credit Line
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
Object Details
A distant cousin of James K. Polk, Rebecca Polk spent most of her life in France. Her other artistic work is unknown. In the 1926 edition of Art and Artists in the Capitol, author Charles Fairman states, “Whether the portrait be the best or not, it is interesting on account of it being the only portrait of a Speaker of the House who became President of the United States. With two honors of this character it may be permissible to have a portrait which does not appeal to one as being attractive.”
