John Adams Dix (1883) by Imogene Robinson Morrell

Artist Imogene Morrell created her life-size portrait of John Adams Dix several years after the statesman’s death.  Morrell’s paintings of Dix and a larger-than-life image of former President James Garfield were the subject of a lengthy petition addressed to Senator John Sherman, chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library. Some 30 signers of the petition, including senators and representatives, called for the purchase of the two paintings. The petition, now in the National Archives, refers to the Dix portrait as “carefully drawn and painted,” stating that “every muscle and vein shows the highest degree of artistic finish.” The acquisition of Morrell’s works was urged both because of her contributions to the “scientific study and practice of Art in this country” and because of her subjects’ historical importance. The disposition of the Garfield picture is unknown, but the Joint Committee on the Library acquired the likeness of Dix in 1883.

A respected painter of historical subjects, Morrell studied in Dusseldorf and Paris. She lived in Washington, D.C., from 1877 until her death in 1908. She exhibited works at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, and in 1879 helped establish the National Academy of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C.