Object Details
- Exhibition Label
- Thirty-first president, 1929–1933
- Trained as a mining engineer, Herbert Hoover was a public intellectual and a problem solver. As such, he embodied the new class of expert who applied rationality to social problems. During and after World War I, his management of European food relief was a model program of public administration that solved a pressing social need. The Great Depression, however, which began during the second year of his presidency, proved to be beyond Hoover’s control and understanding. A believer in the power of private initiative, he hesitated to involve the federal government in relief programs on the regulation of business. Lengthening breadlines and escalating joblessness finally convinced him to take action, but his measures were too little, too late. Consequently, he was defeated by a huge margin in his 1932 reelection bid.
- 31o presidente, 1929–1933
- Educado como ingeniero de minas, Herbert Hoover tenía reputación de intelectual y de ser capaz de resolver problemas. Como tal, representaba a la nueva clase de expertos que aplicaban la razón a los problemas sociales. Durante la Primera Guerra Mundial y el período subsiguiente, su manejo de la ayuda humanitaria a Europa fue un modelo de administración pública que dio solución a una urgente necesidad social. Sin embargo, la Gran Depresión, que comenzó en el segundo año de su presidencia, resultó ser un problema más allá del control y el discernimiento de Hoover. Creyente fiel en el poder de la iniciativa privada, se mostró reacio a involucrar al gobierno federal en programas de asistencia o en la regulación de las empresas. Por fin, el creciente desempleo y las largas filas para recibir asistencia pública lo convencieron de que debía actuar, pero sus medidas fueron insuficientes y llegaron demasiado tarde. En consecuencia, perdió la reelección en 1932 por un margen considerable.
- Provenance
- Mrs. Douglas Chandor, wife of the artist; purchased 1968 NPG.
- Data Source
- National Portrait Gallery
- Artist
- Douglas Granville Chandor, 20 Aug 1897 - 13 Jan 1953
- Sitter
- Herbert Clark Hoover, 10 Aug 1874 - 20 Oct 1964
- Date
- 1931
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; frame conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Frame (Verified): 140.3 x 95.6 x 8.3cm (55 1/4 x 37 5/8 x 3 1/4")
- Stretcher: 114.3 × 96.5cm (45 × 38")
- Type
- Painting
