John Vanderlyn   [1776-1852]

 

John Vanderlyn was the grandson of Pieter Vanderlyn [1687-1778], who was also a painter with rather limited, but high quality output. Whereas John Vanderlyn was a painter nearly his entire adult life, his grandfather Pieter only painted for about 15 years, and during that time apparently only painted as a part time activity. The grandfather, Pieter Vanderlyn, was probably self-taught, while John received extensive training by such noted painters as Gilbert Stuart, and later by established painters in Paris and Rome.

John Vanderlyn was befriended by Aaron Burr early in his life, and it was Burr who was able to place him for training with the famous American painter Gilbert Stuart in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for several months. Following his training with Stuart, Burr then financed Vanderlyn’s five year stay in Paris, where he studied under Vincent. Around 1802, he returned to the U.S.A., and painted several views of the Niagara Falls, which were then engraved, and put on display in London, England. In 1803, he was able to return to Europe, and spent over ten years in Rome and Paris, developing his artistic skills.

Vanderlyn’s output was extensive. He painted largely portraits of noted people, but also became involved with large scale paintings, such as the one of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles, in Paris, France. His art is currently owned, or displayed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the New York Historical Society in New York City, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the U. S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. One of his more famous portraits is the one of James Monroe, which is displayed in the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

John Vanderlyn had been able to produce an extensive oeuvre during his life time as a painter, but the quality of his paintings was not always at the level of his peers, or of sufficient quality to draw the interest of the buying public. Even during his life time, he had difficulty supporting himself with his painting activities. Vanderlyn passed away in poverty in Kingston, New York on September 23, 1852.

 

REFERENCES

John Vanderlyn, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Vanderlyn

John Vanderlyn, http://hopefarm.com/vanderlyn.htm

 

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