FEKE, ROBERT

born c. 1705, Long Island, N.Y. died c. 1750, , West Indies British-American painter, whose portraits depict the emerging colonial aristocracy. Uncertainties about Feke's being termed a mariner, about his supposed travels, and about his artistic training cause differences of opinion among scholars. The record of his work, howeverdone at Boston, Philadelphia, and in his home at Newport, R.I.is reasonably clear. About 15 portraits are signed and dated, and his manner is distinctive enough to support attribution to him of about 50 more. Among his better portraits is the likeness of Samuel Waldo (c. 1742). Feke's observation of character was sporadic and his figures often stiff and awkward. In his use of luminous colour, naturalistic rendering of textures, and vitality of composition, however, he is a major 18th-century colonial American talent.