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Lot Essay
As one of the more prolific and under-catalogued itinerant artists working in colonial America, John Durand and the full scope of his work remain distinctive yet unknown. His portraits document the elite of Virginia and New York, and evidence of his presence in these two areas appears in local newspapers and public records throughout the third quarter of the eighteenth century.
The first known painting by Durand was executed in Virginia in 1765. The following year he was in New York, where he was commissioned by the prosperous merchant James Beekman (1732-1807) to complete portraits of each of his six children, which are now in the collection of the New-York Historical Society. The reference in Beekman's account book for a payment to 'Monsieur Duran' suggests that the artist may have been French (Franklin W. Kelly, "The Portraits of John Durand," The Magazine Antiques (November 1982), pp. 1080-1081). By 1769, Durand had returned to Virginia, where he remained working until at least 1782, after which no paintings by the artist are known.
With Durand's skill as a portrait artist evolving from a flattened, linear execution to a more dimensional quality, the modeled nature of this portrait may suggest that it was executed later in his career.
The first known painting by Durand was executed in Virginia in 1765. The following year he was in New York, where he was commissioned by the prosperous merchant James Beekman (1732-1807) to complete portraits of each of his six children, which are now in the collection of the New-York Historical Society. The reference in Beekman's account book for a payment to 'Monsieur Duran' suggests that the artist may have been French (Franklin W. Kelly, "The Portraits of John Durand," The Magazine Antiques (November 1982), pp. 1080-1081). By 1769, Durand had returned to Virginia, where he remained working until at least 1782, after which no paintings by the artist are known.
With Durand's skill as a portrait artist evolving from a flattened, linear execution to a more dimensional quality, the modeled nature of this portrait may suggest that it was executed later in his career.