Justus DaLee (October 1, 1793 – January 5, 1878) was an American

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...

ist born in Pittstown, New York to James Waterman DaLee and his wife, Anstis Kinnicutt. He married Mary Fowler October 13, 1816 at

White Creek, New York White Creek is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 3,411 at the 2000 census. The town contains the White Creek Historic District, which was ...

, and they had ten children. He served as a musician in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

and was a professor of

penmanship Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. Today, this is most commonly done with a pen, or pencil, but throughout history has included many different implements. The various generic and formal hist ...

. DaLee was a school teacher in New York State and is also known to have worked in Massachusetts. He was known for his miniature

naïve art Naïve art is usually defined as visual art that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes (in anatomy, art history, technique, perspective, ways of seeing). When this aesthetic is ...

side portraits. Media used were

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

, and

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...

. The earliest dated record of Justus DaLee's activity is a fifty-two page sketchbook entitled "Emblematic Figures, Representations, and Etc., to Please the Eye." He died on January 5, 1878, in

Eden, Wisconsin Eden is a village in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 875 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Eden. History A post office called Eden was first established in 1850. Eden was named after ...

and is buried in the Odekirk Cemetery, Eden, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.

References

* Davenport, Ray; ''Davenport's Art Reference: The Gold Edition''; 2005 * Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson (Editor); ''The Artists Bluebook: 34,000 North American Artists to March 2005''; 2005 * Rumford, Beatrix; ''American Folk Portraits from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center''; 1981 American folk artists 19th-century American painters American male painters 1793 births 1878 deaths People from Washington County, New York Painters from New York (state) American military personnel of the War of 1812 People from Eden, Wisconsin {{US-painter-stub