I shall hazard much and can possibly gain nothering by the issue of this interview... Hamilton before his duel with Burr, 1804
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.A legendary episode in American history, recently popularized in a landmark Broadway musical, the final confrontation between personal and political rivals former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr transpired July 11, 1804, in Weehawken, New Jersey, on a popular dueling ground along the Hudson River. Burr issued the challenge, asserting Hamilton had disgraced his honor while thwarting his political ambitions. The panel’s title derives from a letter Hamilton penned prior to the duel detailing his motivations and regrets for accepting it. In Lawrence’s depiction, Burr’s ominous shadow appears at the center of the painting, while Hamilton, at right, acknowledges his mortal wound. John Trumbull’s full-length portrait of Hamilton can be seen in Gallery 755 in the Museum’s American Wing.
Artwork Details
- Title: I shall hazard much and can possibly gain nothering by the issue of this interview... Hamilton before his duel with Burr, 1804
- Artist: Jacob Lawrence (American, Atlantic City, New Jersey 1917–2000 Seattle, Washington)
- Date: 1956
- Medium: Egg tempera on hardboard
- Dimensions: 12 × 16 in. (30.5 × 40.6 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Collection of Harvey and Harvey-Ann Ross
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2022 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art