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Table of Contents > Revolutionary War > Lot 110 |
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Lot Number: 110
Click for a Printable PageSign-in to Bid or Register to Bid Estimate Range: $12,000 - $18,000 |
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Circa 1805 Original Oil On Wood and Gesso Portrait of Pierre Van Cortlandt, Patriarch of the Hudson Valley Family, Owner of Van Cortlandt Manor and First Honorary Member of the Society of Cincinnati by John Wesley Jarvis |
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Pierre Van Cortlandt (1721-1814), circa 1808, Original Oil on Wood Plank Board and Gesso Portrait of the Patriarch of the wealthy Hudson Valley family, owner of Van Cortlandt Manor, and vast land holdings, by artist John Wesley Jarvis (1780-1840), Very Fine. This exceptional original oil measures 28 x 24 inches, unframed, has some scattered slight surface marks from prior movement consistent with its two centuries age, which appears in need of only a simple cleaning and touchup. A strong and striking oil painting having choice eye appeal of Pierre Van Cortlandt, who was a close friend of General George Washington, who on July 6, 1784, made him the First "Honorary Member" of the Society of Cincinnati.Pierre was also the Founding Master of a Masonic lodge, Delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention, and later Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General of the State of New York. The prominent New York patrician's family held vast lands in the Hudson Valley and the Bronx, New York where Van Cortlandt homes remain today as celebrated historic mansions open to the public. The mansion in the Hudson Valley, New York gives its name to the nearby town, "Van Cortlandt Manor". Another mansion in the Bronx, New York (in Van Cortlandt Park), is currently owned by the Society of Colonial Dames, which holds several other original paintings by the artist John Wesley Jarvis (1780-1840), being the painter most favored by the Van Cortlandt family. Harold E. Dickson's John Wesley Jarvis, American Painter (New York Historical Society, 1949) tells how when Jarvis first moved to New York, he occupied the second floor of a low two-story building on Wall Street, above the office of Pierre Van Cortlandt's grand-son, who served as Recorder for the City of New York (p. 121). The two became friends and held at least one rowdy party in Jarvis's quarters that earned mention in another history of early American art, Dunlap's great book History of Design in America. In his Wall Street quarters, Jarvis displayed "specimens" - prototypes -- of his paintings to impress prospective clients. Dickson notes that one of Pierre done around 1808 was used as such an advertisement . Although only a later portrait is listed in Dickson's Checklist of Jarvis's works, number 244 on p. 367, in recounting the story of Jarvis's career, he writes that another portrait of Pierre "on a heavy panel, was in 1940 in the possession of Ginsburg and Levy, Inc." in New York City (p. 121, n. 3). That certainly seems to describe this painting plastered with gesson on a heavy wood plank. The better-known portrait of Pierre Van Cortlandt was painted by John Wesley Jarvis circa 1810 for the Family. It was photographed and included in Bowen's History of the Centennial Celebration of the Inauguration of George Washington. That painting bears overwhelming similarity to this example, but portrays Van Cortlandt at a slightly older age. Anyone viewing the two portraits together would immediately recognize that this current portrait was undoubtedly painted by John Wesley Jarvis some years-perhaps two--earlier. That would make it one of the most important works in this celebrated artist's career. Jacob Judd's "Correspondence of the Van Cortlandt Family" also refers to two portraits, one of which he says (in his 1977 book) was in the Museum of New York and the other in the Sleepy Hollow Restorations collection. Provenance: This Portrait was purchased by our current consignor from the collection of the late Charles Richard Smith, who was the senior historian and branch chief of the Marine Corps' “History and Museums Division”. Smith purchased it from Christie's, NY on August 10, 2005. The Christie's description made no suggestion as to provenance, and it bears a label suggesting it was sold earlier by Stair Gallery in the Hudson Valley. He was born in New York City, the son of Philip Van Cortlandt (1683-1746) (a son of Gertruj Schuyler and Stephanus Van Cortlandt (1643-1700), Mayor of New York City from 1677 to 1678 and 1686 to 1688), and Catherine de Peyster (daughter of Abraham de Peyster (1657-1728), Mayor of New York City from 1691 to 1694, and Governor of the Province of New York from 1700 to 1701, and granddaughter of Johannes de Peyster, Sr. (c. 1600-1685). Pierre's uncle Johannes de Peyster, Jr. (1666-1711) was Mayor of New York City, 1698-1699. His great-uncle Jacobus Van Cortlandt (1658-1739) was Mayor of New York City, 1719-1720. Yet despite British efforts to ensure his loyalty to England, Pierre Van Cortlandt and his son, Continental Army Brigadier General Philip Van Cortland, served in the Patriot cause during the American Revolution. For Pierre, his service was in the local New York Militia as the Revolutionary War began; for his son Philip it meant service in the Continental Army. On October 19, 1775, Pierre was appointed Colonel in Command of the Third Regiment of Westchester County Militia and later was advanced to be a General. Pierre remained Colonel of the Regiment until June 28, 1778. At times during the Revolutionary War, when New York Governor George Clinton was away from the state on active military service, Lt. Governor Pierre Van Cortlandt headed the Revolutionary government of New York State and directed its War effort. General George Washington often referred to Pierre Van Cortlandt as a trusted friend and ally. After the War, on November 25, 1783, Pierre accompanied General Washington traveling on his Triumphant Ride into New York City. Although he did not hold the rank of "General" in the Continental Army, Pierre was made the First Honorary Member of the New York State Society of the Cincinnati on July 6, 1784. His political career similarly demonstrated stalwart devotion and active service to the Patriot cause. Pierre was first elected to the Colonial New York Assembly in March 1768 and served in that body as the Representative from Van Cortlandt Manor (the local town taking its name from his family's estate) until 1775. He was a Member of the Second Provincial Congress, 1775-1776, and Chairman of its Committee of Safety in 1776. He also Represented Westchester County at all four of the Provincial Congresses, and was Chosen to Preside over the last three; he was Vice President of the Fourth Provincial Congress in 1776, and of the Constitutional Convention of the State of New York, 1776-1777; elected as President of the First Council of Safety in 1777; elected as a Senator from the Southern District in 1777; President of the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1777; and was the First Lieutenant Governor of the state, serving from 1777-1795 under governor George Clinton. He died May 1, 1814 (aged 93) at Croton-on-Hudson, New York. On July 9, 1776, Pierre Van Cortlandt was among Thirty-eight Delegates to Ratify the Declaration of Independence at White Plains, New York. In 1787, he was elected President of the New York State Convention meeting in Poughkeepsie to Ratify the Constitution of the United States. The Portrait painter, artist John Wesley Jarvis (1780-1840) is one of the most interesting early American artists. A great-great-nephew of the Methodist theologian, he was born in England, but his father, a mariner, moved his family to Philadelphia in the mid-1780s. Jarvis began his artistic training under Matthew Pratt and knew the Danish painter Christian Gullagher. His formal instruction began around 1796 when he was apprenticed to Edward Savage, with whom he moved to New York in 1801. Two years later Jarvis formed a partnership with Joseph Wood in making Engravings, Miniatures, and large Portraits. He learned the art of making miniatures from Edward Malbone. Outgoing and eccentric, he was highly popular in New York for over a decade and developed a high society following in other American cities he visited such as, Baltimore, Charleston, New Orleans, and Washington, DC among them. By 1814, he was considered the Premier Portrait Painter in New York City, having close ties to the theater world, and was said to be a "hilarious storyteller," and "known for his ostentatious dress, flippant manner, and consumption of alcohol." Jarvis had assistants whose names are now recognized as great artists in their own right including Thomas Sully and Henry Inman. Jarvis suffered a debilitating stroke in 1834 and was partially paralyzed and was mentally incapacitated until his death in 1839. |
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Lot Number: 110
Click for a Printable Page Sign-in to Bid or Register to Bid |
Estimate Range: $12,000 - $18,000 |
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Early American History Auctions, Inc. 1520 Commerce St., # 312 • Winchester, VA 22601 Phone: 858 • 759 • 3290 Email: Auctions@EarlyAmerican.com |
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