Political liberty does not consist in an unlimited freedom…we must have continually present to our minds the difference between independence and liberty. Liberty is a right of doing whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen could do what they forbid he would be no longer possessed of liberty, because all his fellow-citizens would have the same power. – Montesquieu on the Nature of Liberty. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man.

Edith Jaffy Kaplan, Political liberty does not consist in an unlimited freedom...we must have continually present to our minds the difference between independence and liberty. Liberty is a right of doing whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen could do what they forbid he would be no longer possessed of liberty, because all his fellow-citizens would have the same power.--Montesquieu on the Nature of Liberty. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1951, brush and ink and gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.137
Copied Edith Jaffy Kaplan, Political liberty does not consist in an unlimited freedom...we must have continually present to our minds the difference between independence and liberty. Liberty is a right of doing whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen could do what they forbid he would be no longer possessed of liberty, because all his fellow-citizens would have the same power.--Montesquieu on the Nature of Liberty. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man., 1951, brush and ink and gouache on paper, sheet: 21 5⁄8 x 15 1⁄4 in. (55.0 x 38.7 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.137

Artwork Details

Title
Political liberty does not consist in an unlimited freedom…we must have continually present to our minds the difference between independence and liberty. Liberty is a right of doing whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen could do what they forbid he would be no longer possessed of liberty, because all his fellow-citizens would have the same power. – Montesquieu on the Nature of Liberty. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man.
Artist
Date
1951
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 21 5⁄8 x 15 1⁄4 in. (55.0 x 38.7 cm) irregular
Credit Line
Gift of Container Corporation of America
Mediums
Mediums Description
brush and ink and gouache on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure — head
Object Number
1984.124.137
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1984.124.137