James Buchanan
Limited Edition Print
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Each print is an 8x10, signed and numbered first edition of 20. Printed on German Etching Archival Fine Art paper.
About the Man
Across the boards, James Buchanan ranks as the worst of US Presidents. Why he was such a failure is on one hand is perplexing, yet the other quite obvious. Upon entering the White House, Buchanan had nearly 50 years of political service. 50 years spent in US and foreign affairs, years he spent well and years that made him a very respected man.
What happened that made his years in office so dreadful? He picked the wrong friends, appointed the wrong cabinet members, rarely made concrete decisions about what he believed was necessary to lead the country, when he did make decisions he held to them unswervingly even when they were obviously wrong and in the end he blamed the public for the nations troubles. He was always blaming someone else. In effect, he was far from the impartial leader our country needed. 6 weeks after leaving office, Civil War broke out and all the troubles he left behind in the White House were delegated to Abraham Lincoln.
After he left office, he spent much of his time defending himself. In his diaries – entitled Mr Buchanan’s Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion., the first published memoirs of a president, he said on his deathbed that history will vindicate his memory. He died June 1st 1868. Over 140 years later, history has yet to answer that call for vindication.
He is the only president to never marry, thus there are no direct descendants of James Buchanan. The quote I used for Buchanan is a shortened version something he said to Lincoln during his successor’s inauguration – “If you are as happy, my dear sir, on entering this house as I am in leaving it and returning home, you are the happiest man in this country.”
*note, this painting is actually the oldest in this series. Its a survivor from the first set of US President paintings I created in May of 09. Unsatisfied with early results (I had painted all the way through Chester Arthur), I began terrorizing the series of paintings, throwing out ones I was displeased with left and right. James Buchanan didn’t get the axe, but that’s the reason this painting looks so much different from the recent ones I’ve been painting and posting week by week.
