James Lambdin (1807 - 1889). James Reid Lambdin was an American born artist, famous for many of his portraits of U.S. Presidents. James Reid Lambdin was born on May 10, 1807, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later studied art in Philadelphia for two years under the tutelage of Thomas Sully. He is famous for his portraits of U.S. Presidents, including portraits of William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor. Lambdin became professor of fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania. He had one son, George C. Lambdin, born in 1830 in Pittsburgh. In 1839 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Honorary Academician.