oxford gallery

Gerardus Duyckinck I
American (1695–1746)

Gerardus Duyckinck IGirl in a Blue Dress, oil on canvas, 40 by 33 inches (image), 48 by 41 inches (with frarme), unsigned; circa 1730 (see note).

Gerardus Duyckinck I was born in New York City in 1695, the scion of a line of Dutch artisans. He was the grandson of Evert “the Glazier” Duyckinck, who emigrated from Holland to New Amsterdam in 1635 and established himself as a painter and installer of glass. His son Gerrit, also a glazier and limner, was the father of Gerardus. In 1731, Gerardus was declared a “freeman” in his profession, which, in addition to painting portraits, seems to have included gilding frames and making looking-glasses. In addition to portraits of prominent members of the Dutch community, Gerardus painted scenes from scripture, such as “The Woman Taken in Adultery” (Philadelphia Museum), “The Naming of John The Baptist” (1713), and “The Birth of the Virgin,” the last being the earliest dated and signed New York painting. Gerardus I died on 26 July, 1746 in Kingston, New York. His son, Gerardus II, took over his father’s business.

Work attributed to Gerardus Duyckinck I is in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Albany Institute of Art and History, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, Arkansas), the New York Historical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the National Gallery of Art.

Note: Attribution of this work to Gerardus Duyckinck I has been confirmed by the Albany Institute of Art and History.



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