The title of the article is Colonial New York Limners.
Ona writes
The New York Province was a vast territory in the early part of the 18th century although much of it was undeveloped. The manorial system under such task masters as the Van Rennselaers, Livingstons and Van Cortlandts was not conducive to individual ownership of land and inhibited settlement. New York City was the most populated with Albany following behind and Schenectady a distant third with New Paltz, Kingston and Saugerties settlements emerging along the shores of the Hudson River. Perth Amboy on the New Jersey side was a bustling community. As far back as the 17th century New York was home to a diversified group. In 1664 the English took control and it was no longer a Dutch settlement but Dutch customs and traditions prevailed for about one hundred years but the Scots, Scotch Irish, the Palatines and the French Huguenots made their presence known. By the early 18th century commerce was strong and money was being made. The fur trade was diminishing but commerce and yes the slave trade with England, Boston and the Caribbean were flourishing. Ship building became a major industry especially in the New York City area. Further up the Hudson wheat became a staple for trade. There were luxurious homes for those who were prospering. Homes were furnished by colonial cabinetmakers or with imports from London and silver objects created by master New York silversmiths such as Myer Myers and Batholomew Le Roux II. It was prime time for the well to do colonists to have their portraits painted and show the world and posterity what they had accomplished. Portraiture was definitely a status symbol.
There were no art schools or academically trained artists in the colo-nies in this time period. The painting of portraits was essentially a grass root effort. There were several recorded limners who painted the portraits of colonial New Yorkers in the period 1710 to about 1750. Artisans they were rather than academically trained artists. They painted signs and carriages as well as portraits of New Yorkers who in the early 18th century had enough security in their lives to want to record their images for generations to come. Several generations of Duyckincks worked in the New York City area. Nehemiah Partridge worked in the Hudson Valley and the Albany Schenec-tady area. John Heaton an Englishman who “married Dutch” worked in Albany, Schenectady as well as the Hudson Valley as did Pieter Vanderlyn. James Watson a successful New Jersey business man was also a capable portrait painter. Other names such as Raphael Goelet appear in early records but little is known about them nor are there examples to be found of their work.
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