Despite the large number of portraits that he painted, William Jennys remains a somewhat elusive figure in the history of American art. The first known reference to Jennys dates to 1793, when the artist placed an advertisement in the Norwich (Connecticut) Packet. Jennys's earliest surviving canvases have Connecticut origins as well, notably in the village of New Milford, where they were painted beginning about 1795. Also working in the vicinity of New Milford was Richard Jennys (active 1766-1801), a probable relation of the artist whose own portraits share similar formats and stylistic traits.

During 1797-98, Jennys was recorded in New York City. From 1800 onward he worked as an itinerant painter in New England, taking commissions in the Connecticut Valley, central Massachusetts, Vermont, and western New Hampshire before traveling eastward to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and finally to the nearby town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. A receipt dated April 30, 1807, for a portrait of James Clarkson of Newburyport marks the terminus of Jennys's known career.

The Currier's pendant Portrait of a Man and Portrait of a Woman exemplify Jennys's approach to portrait painting. Depicted waist-length in an oval format set within painted spandrels, the subjects face each other while turning their heads slightly so as to engage the viewer. Jennys's hard forms and crisp outlines augment his uncompromising rendition of facial topography, resulting in portrayals that verge on the unattractive. Yet unidealized details such as uncombed hair, crow's-foot wrinkles, and sagging skin testify to the apparent truthfulness of the artist's vision. Seen against a backdrop of cultural Calvinism that shaped much of New England society, the sitters' tacit acceptance of personal imperfections and the ravages of age seems to signal a certain humility. And while the unidentified couple is rather stylishly dressed, there is none of the dynastic pretension seen in English and American urban portraiture of the period. Absent are the imposing props, the crimson drapery, and monumental columns of a Gilbert Stuart (q.v.) or a Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830); in their place seems only to be the simple desire to record one's existence for posterity.

Economy played a role in Jennys's work as well, and for thrifty clients who cared little about commissioning a masterpiece, cheaper was better. Scattered documents and receipts indicate that Jennys was capable of completing as many as two portraits in a single day. Working rapidly and with inexpensive materials, the artist was able to pass the savings along to his sitters. Jennys's strategy is clearly reflected in the Currier portraits, whose broadly brushed backgrounds and thin application of paint suggest both speed and a minimum of waste. In addition, the artist has avoided treating the hands of his sitters: requiring additional time and effort, the inclusion of hands would undoubtedly have called for a higher price.(1)

Portrait of a Man and Portrait of a Woman are believed to have been painted later in Jennys's career, sometime during the first years of the nineteenth century. Rendered with exceptional care, the sitters' costumes, particularly the woman's dress, are useful in assigning a date to the portraits. More sensitive to changes of fashion than male attire, the woman's costume is based on French styles of about 1800-1805, modified by more conservative Anglo-American tastes and perhaps further influenced by local availability of materials. While the high waist and short, close-fitting sleeves are hallmarks of Empire style, there is little of the French preference for expansive décolletage and filmy, near-transparent fabrics. Adding a note of modesty, the woman's ruched lace collar contrasts with the sheer shoulder line demanded by the latest fashions, and may be slightly out of date. Indeed, similar collars appear in earlier Jennys portraits, including Mrs. Asahel Bacon and Mary Ann Bacon (both 1795, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center).

Although the identity of the sitters remains unclear, the material evidence suggests that they were probably among the village elite who formed the bulk of Jennys's clients. Numbering merchants, sea captains, and civic figures of various sorts, Jennys's patrons were frequently self-made and highly esteemed within their respective towns. While they and their wives may have desired to emulate the urban aristocracy (as suggested by the fashion consciousness inherent in Portrait of a Woman), they ultimately cleaved to a "country" ideal of sober honesty and thrift. Jennys met their needs admirably, and in contrast to the European panache of his urban contemporaries, he forged an effective compromise between the imperatives of portrait painting and the needs of his subjects.

VSD

NOTE

1. In 1810, for example, the young Thomas Sully (1783-1872) charged $10 extra for including two hands in his bust-length portraits. See Monroe H. Fabian, Mr. Sully, Portrait Painter, ex. cat. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, 1983, p. 17.

REFERENCES

American Folk Portraits: Paintings and Drawings from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center. Boston: New York Graphic Society in association with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1981.

Deborah Chotner, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naïve Painting. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

William Lamson Warren. "A Checklist of Jennys Portraits." Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin vol. 21, no. 2 (April 1956): 32-64.