JARVIS, JOHN WESLEY

born 1781, South Shields, Durham, Eng. died Jan. 14, 1840, New York City U.S. painter considered the leading portraitist of his time in New York City. Growing up in Philadelphia, where he gained some knowledge of art from sign makers, Jarvis was apprenticed (1800) in New York City to an engraver named Edward Savage; later, in partnership with Joseph Wood, he painted profiles and miniatures. He travelled to major cities, such as Baltimore and Charleston, S.C., for commissions while maintaining headquarters in New York City, where, in 1815, he profitted from exhibiting Adolf Ulrik Wertmller's controversial painting, Dana. While in Louisiana, he established an important studio, collaborating with, among others, Henry Inman, who had served Jarvis for seven years as apprentice and assistant, and John Quidor. By the time John James Audubon met him in 1821 at New Orleans, Jarvis was in his prime and had become a dandy of exotic bohemian proportions. After the War of 1812, the Common Council commissioned him to paint huge republican portraits for City Hall, New York City; among these is the famous Oliver H. Perry.