JOHN VANDERLYN IN VIRGINIA AND WASHINGTON, D.C.
On a recent trip to Lynchburg, Virginia and Washington, DC, we were able to view several paintings by Kingston born artist, John Vanderlyn.
Before the age of photography, portraits were a way for wealthy families to have a keepsake of family members, especially older members. Vanderlyn, in the early 1800's, was the go-to portrait painter for the moneyed-class. Although much sought after as a portrait painter, Vanderlyn aspired to do grand history paintings like his Napoleonic medal-winning Marius Amid the Ruins of Carthage, and the well known Murder of Jane McCrea.
In Lynchburg, we interviewed Vanderlyn expert, and art historian, Katherine Woltz, who gave us a run-down of Vanderlyn's life and the intrigues that have long surrounded his career and his close and abiding friendship with controversial politician, Aaron Burr. Burr was not only Vanderlyn's patron, but when Burr fled the US for a safe haven in Europe, Vanderlyn supported him and helped him eventually gain passage back to North America.
In Lynchburg, we were hosted by the Randolph College Maier Art Museum, which has a beautiful Vanderlyn portrait of Mary Scott Swan. We were able to use the gallery for our interview, which will become part of our documentary, John Vanderlyn: The Artist and His Times.
After Lynchburg, we traveled to Washington, D.C. where Vanderlyn is represented in the National Portrait Gallery and by a panel showing the Landing of Columbus in the United States Capital Rotunda.
Here are a few images from our trip.
Portrait of the Artist; President James Monroe; Columbus Landing in America; Mary Scott Swan; Capital Rotunda view