Portrait of Chief Justice John Marshall
Alfred S. Waugh, American (born Ireland), c. 1810 - 1856
John Marshall (1755-1835) was born in Virginia. After serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as Secretary of State, he became the fourth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1801. Politically aligned with the Federalists, his decisions and opinions established important precedents of American law. Marshall was a popular subject in painting, sculpture and prints, especially at the time of his 80th birthday.
Alfred S. Waugh was an itinerant sculptor, portrait and miniature painter. After working as an assistant to the well-known English sculptor Robert Ball Hughes (1804-1868) in New York in the early 1830s, he traveled throughout the south and New Mexico before settling in St. Louis in 1848.