Abraham Delanoy, Jr. (sometimes given as De Lanoy) (1742 – 1795) was a portrait painter active in the

colony of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Unit ...

. He was a pupil of

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Early life

Abraham Delanoy, Jr. was born in 1742, and was most likely the son of another Abraham De Lanoy, a merchant, and grandson of the area schoolmaster. The family were relatives of the Beekman family, from whom some of his known commissions came. Abraham's great-uncle,

Peter Delanoy Peter Delanoy, who served from 1689 to 1691, was the first and only directly elected Mayor of New York City pp.99-100 until 1834. Appointed mayors resumed in the wake of Leisler's Rebellion. He was succeeded by former Mayor John Lawrence. The Re ...

, was the first elected

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

at the time when the English were taking the colony over from the Dutch. Delanoy was also a descendant of Abraham De Lanoy, who married Cornelia Toll Duyckinck after the early death of her husband. Her son was the limner

Evert Duyckinck III Evert is a Dutch and Swedish short form of the Germanic masculine name "Everhard" (alternative Eberhard).Evert
at the

, and it has been suggested that it was his relationship to this artistic family that led to the young man's choice of profession. The De Lanoys were among the earliest settlers of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

and were tradespeople and merchants.

Career

Nothing is known of his early training, nor of the reason or date of his journey to London, though he is said to have been the second painter to study with West, and may be one of the figures in ''The American School'', the well-known painting by

Matthew Pratt Matthew Pratt (September 23, 1734 – January 9, 1805) was an American "Colonial Era" artist famous for his portraits of American men and women. He was born in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania to goldsmith Henry Pratt, (1708–1748) and R ...

. He left that city soon after the arrival of

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...

in February, 1767; the latter artist recorded that Delanoy had remained in town long after West believed he had returned home. West encouraged his pupil to copy one or two paintings to take home with him. Delanoy was back in New York by May 28, 1767, when he advertised his services in the ''New-York Journal or the General Advertiser''. He had less success than other London trained painters, such as Peale or

Henry Benbridge Henry Benbridge (October 1743 – February 1812) was an early American portrait painter. Early life and education He was born in Philadelphia, the only child of James and Mary (Clark) Benbridge. When he was seven years old, his mother, who ...

, but did find patronage among members of the Beekman family, formerly patrons of Lawrence Kilburn. He also sold wines and other foodstuffs, beginning not long after his return from London. In 1768, advertisements reveal, he traveled in search of work to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, but he was back in New York by January, 1771; no work from these travels has been identified. Only nine portraits survive from his time in New York, and most are associated with him by attribution, though one is said to have been signed and dated on the original canvas. Delanoy was still in New York in the early 1780s, having spent the duration of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

living in the city, and gave some lessons to

William Dunlap William Dunlap (February 19, 1766 – September 28, 1839) was a pioneer of American theater. He was a producer, playwright, and actor, as well as a historian. He managed two of New York City's earliest and most prominent theaters, the John Str ...

, who later wrote sadly of his former teacher's later years, stating that he was consumptive and poor, and reduced to painting signs to make a living. From June 1784 until April 1787, Delanoy was in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, employed as a general painter; a single

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

dating to this time is his only known work in that genre.Biography
at Dictionary of pastellists before 1800 He returned to New York City for three years, before moving in 1790 to

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, where he died. Delanoy is said to have been "awkward in his address and of unprepossessing appearance". A portrait of Benjamin West is currently owned by the

New York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...

. The pastel portrait, believed to be of Mrs. Simeon Jocelyn (born Luceanna Smith), is in the collection of the

Connecticut Historical Society The Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the official statewide historical society of Connecticut. Established in Hartford in 1825, the CHS is one of the oldest historical societies in the US. ...

. Portraits of members of the Sherman, Livingston and Stuyvesant families are known as well, many of which are privately owned. Susan Clay Sawitzky suggested that he was the so-called Sherman Limner, two of whose works are in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

, but this identification is not universally accepted.

Personal life

On September 27, 1763, he married Rachel Martling, sometimes called Martling. He died in

in 1795.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delanoy, Abraham 1742 births 1795 deaths 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists American male painters American portrait painters Painters from New York City People of the Province of New York Pastel artists