English: Gulian Verplanck

Artist: John Wesley Jarvis (American (born England), South Shield 1780–1840 New York) Date: ca. 1811 Medium: Oil on panel Dimensions: 28 1/2 x 33 1/8 in. (72.4 x 84.1 cm) Classification: Paintings Credit Line: Gift of Nora F. Cammann and Albert Francke, 2000

A devoted and influential member of many of the leading learned organizations of his day, Gulian Verplanck (1786-1870) was a member of one of New York's most prominent families, descended from the earliest settlers of New Amsterdam. Jarvis's choice of a horizontal format for his portrait of Verplanck was highly unusual and inspired: it captures the liberal spirit of this young man of wealth, leisure, and intelligence, who allowed the painter to experiment with conventional portrait composition in order to provide greater context for the likeness.