Picturing Henry


Portrait of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ca. 1835

Portrait of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ca. 1835
Item 15906   info
NPS, Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

While at Bowdoin, Longfellow taught French, Spanish and Italian and published a number of foreign language textbooks.

In 1834, he was offered a professorship in modern languages at Harvard College.

Before beginning his new job, he and his wife, Mary Potter Longfellow, went on a European trip so he could further improve his language skills.

While in Stockholm, he sat for popular artist Maria Rohl. Longfellow was 28 years old.

A few weeks after the portrait was completed, Mary Longfellow suffered a miscarriage and died shortly thereafter.

Despite being devastated by his loss, Longfellow continued his tour.

Item 3 of 27