John Adams of Massachusetts was the first Vice President of the United States, a title he considered a “most insignificant office.” He subsequently succeeded George Washington as the second president after winning the hotly contested election of 1800. He was also the primary author of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, had an infamous love/hate relationship with Thomas Jefferson, negotiated key European treaties during the early days of the American republic, and in addition to George H.W. Bush, is the only other president whose son was elected to the same office. Adams’ resume places him in the top echelon of iconic American figures.

Adams existed before photography. But as a core founding father, he sat for several portraits during his lifetime. In 1825, a sculptor created a bust of Adams from a plaster cast of his face. We have a pretty good idea of what he actually looked like from these works. He always wore black, was of short and stocky build, and never smiled. Part of the reason for this was due to poor dental health, but it can also be attributed to the fact that John Adams wasn’t the nicest person to be around. He could be quite miserable, a trait that his son John Quincy inherited.

The original Louis Marx figurine does a good job of catching Adams’ mood. It looks very similar to the bust that was created of Adams. The sculptor for Marx & Co. probably used that as reference:

For my version, I kept it close to the original but darkened his clothing to be true to the real Adams. Marx & Co. often used grays and dark blues instead of black. I also took inspiration from Gilbert Stuart’s famous portrait of John Adams to get his face and hair right. He’s holding what looks like a document, so I painted that a parchment color. Is it the Declaration of Independence? The Massachusetts Constitution? The Alien and Sedition Acts? Your guess is as good as mine:

John Adams fun fact: Adams is infamously known for signing the Alien and Sedition Acts into law. The sedition portion was a blatantly unconstitutional attack on the First Amendment, and a stain on the Adams administration’s domestic policy. But on foreign policy, John Adams was generally very good.

Adams is often credited as being the father of the U.S. Navy. In 1798, France was well into its own revolution and at odds with nearly all of Europe. Believing that the new U.S./British alliance violated prior U.S./French treaties, the French started to seize American ships. This led to an undeclared “Quasi-War” at sea between the United States and France, and an increased demand to protect America’s maritime interests.

Anti-French sentiment swept across the United States after the “XYZ affair.” French Foreign Minister Talleyrand put off meeting with American diplomats unless they paid bribes and made other concessions. The humiliating incident led to Congress creating a Department of Navy. Adams ordered six state-of-the-art frigates for the new Navy, while still resisting calls for war with France from his own Federalist party, namely Alexander Hamilton. Eventually, France was brought to the negotiation table and the Quasi-War ended. Adams deserves credit for his diplomatic approach to foreign policy regardless of party politics, something modern presidents could learn from.

Of the original six frigates of the U.S. Navy, the USS Constitution is actually still in commission over 220 years later. Retired from active service, she can be viewed by the public year-round at Boston’s Charlestown Navy Yard.