Artwork copyright Whiting Tennis. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Ulysses S. Grant, 1991

Whiting Tennis
(American, born 1959)

Location: Highline College, Des Moines

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Artist Whiting Tennis uses layers in Ulysses S. Grant to tell a story about identity and cultural icons. The artwork is part of his series of portraits of people active in the American Civil War (1861-1865). Tennis's interest in American history was prompted in the late 1980s by reading Abraham Lincoln's biography.

The central image is a portrait of Grant and his favorite horse, Cincinnati. Grant led the Union Army in winning the Civil War and had a reputation as an excellent horseman. As the eighteenth President of the United States (1869-1877), he worked to reconstruct the country, created the Department of Justice, prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan, and enforced civil rights for African American freedmen.

We see Grant’s face with its somber eyes repeated and layered onto other images in the artwork. Tennis created this artwork by first carving and printing a woodblock. He then added painted elements to add another dimension to the story.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Highline Community College.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Whiting Tennis creates paintings, drawings, sculpture, and collage that explore structure and symbolism. He often combines wood grains, faux painting, weathered surfaces, and repurposed and discarded materials such as wood and cardboard to blur the line between reality and illusion.
Born in Virginia, Tennis moved to Seattle in 1972 at age thirteen. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1984. After finishing his degree, he traveled around Alaska and Europe. He spent time living in Barcelona, Spain, where the minimalist American painter Frank Box became his mentor. In addition to his art practice, Tennis performs in local rock bands and has worked as a set carpenter for film and theater productions.