Gustavus Hesselius

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Gustavus Hesselius (1682 – May 23, 1755) was a Swedish born painter who emigrated to the new world in 1711. J. Hall Pleasants has said that Hesselius became "America's earliest portrait painter of note." He was the father of painter Andrea Miralia and cousin of the religious leader Emanuel Swedenborg.^[1]

Contents 1 Biography 2 Significant Works 2.1 Lappawinsoe 2.2 Thomas Bordley 2.3 Mary Darnall Carroll 2.4 The Last Supper 2.5 Col. Leonard Hollyday 3 References 4 Further reading

[edit] Biography

Hesselius left his home country of Sweden for Wilmington, Delaware in 1711 where he lived until 1717 when he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he lived until 1721. In 1721, he moved to Prince George's County, Maryland and became a portrait painter. That same year, he received the first recorded public art commission in the American colonies, he painted The Last Supper. He also painted a Crucifixion. Some time around 1735, Hesselius returned to Philadelphia where spent the rest of his life and traveling.^[1]

He also worked as an organ builder, having built an organ for the Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1746. From about this time on, he focused on building organs, referring painting commissions to his son John.^[1]

In 1994 he was named to the Prince George's County Hall of Fame.^[2]

[edit] Significant Works

[edit] Lappawinsoe

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[edit] Thomas Bordley

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Thomas Bordley, by Gustavus Hesselius, c. 1715. Oil on canvas. 27 x 22 41/64 in.(68.6 x 57.5 cm). Maryland Historical Society Accession: 1891-2-1^[1]

[edit] Mary Darnall Carroll

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Mrs. Charles Carroll, the "Settler"', by Gustavus Hesselius, c. 1717-1720. Oil on canvas. 30 7/64 x 25 13/64 in. (76.5 x 64.0 cm). Maryland Historical Society Accession: 1949-64-1^[1]

[edit] The Last Supper

The first recorded public art commission in the American colonies, The Last Supper by Gustavus Hesselius, commissioned in October 1721 is displayed on the choir gallery of St. Barnabas Church, Upper Marlboro, Maryland.^[1][3][4] Before this, most painting in the new world had been portraits. The Last Supper was the first significant American painting to depict a scene.^[3]

The painting which measures 35 inches by 117 1/2 inches^[4] was commissioned for an older church built in 1710, and remained there until the present structure was built in 1774.^[5] It disappeared during the construction of the new Brick Church and did not surface again until it was discovered in a private collection in 1848^[3] or 1914, when Charles Henry Hart identified it,^[4] depending on which source one follows.

It was on loan by Rose Neel Warrington for a period at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and at the American Swedish Historical Museum^[3] as well as the Exhibition of Early American Paintings at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1917 and the Wilmington Society for the Fine Arts.^[4]

The painting was willed once again to St. Barnabas upon Warrington's death.^[3]

[edit] Col. Leonard Hollyday

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Col. Leonard Hollyday, by Gustavus Hesselius, c. 1740. Oil on canvas. 27 55/64 x 23 7/64 in. (70.8 x 58.7 cm). Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1960-88-1^[1]

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

Pleasants, J. Hall (1945). Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Maryland. Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art.