William Joseph Williams (November 17, 1759 – November 30, 1823) was an American portrait and miniature painter.

Biography

He was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the son of William Williams, a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

painter born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, and Mary Mare Williams, sister of the painter John Mare. Williams resided in New Bern, North Carolina from 1804 to 1823, after living in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Georgetown, and Charleston.Neil Jeffares
Dictionary of pastellists before 1800: Williams, William JosephArchived
/ref> He painted

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

s of

Presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

, as well as other important figures of his time. Williams died in New Bern and buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery. Today, Williams is viewed as one of the first American national portraitists.

References

External links

*
About Williams' painting of Washington
''National Portrait Gallery'

American Gallery: William Joseph Williams (1759–1823)
1759 births 1823 deaths 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists American male painters 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists People from New Bern, North Carolina Painters from North Carolina Painters from New York City American people of Welsh descent People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) {{US-painter-stub