JOHN HESSELIUS

Portrait painter John Hesselius was born in 1728, the son of Swedish painter Gustavus Hesselius. Between 1750 and 1760, Hesselius painted portraits throughout the Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Philadelphia areas, and was heavily influenced by Robert Feke and John Wollaston. In 1760, Hesselius settled at Arundel County, near Annapolis, Maryland and established a plantation, all the while gaining commissions from important Maryland families, including the Calvert family. Many of the Calvert family portraits are currently on display at the Baltimore Museum of Art. It was while in Annapolis in 1762 that Hesselius gave artist Charles Willson Peale his first lesson in painting. Hesselius’ style is distinguishable by the heaviness with which he paints the lower portion of his sitters’ faces, and the slight slant he applies to their eyes, an influence of Wollaston. He is also thought to have painted some religious and classical subjects. John Hesselius died in Annapolis in 1778.