Jarvis, John Wesley, 1781?-1839, American portrait painter, b. England. Beginning as an engraver in Philadelphia, he early moved to New York, where he became a popular portrait painter. In City Hall, New York City, is a series of his full-length portraits of military and naval heroes of the War of 1812.

For entries on other people named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation).

John Wesley Jarvis (1781? - January 14, 1839), American painter, nephew of the great John Wesley, was born at South Shields, England, and was taken to the United States at the age of five.

He was one of the earliest American painters to give serious attention to the study of anatomy. He lived at first in Philadelphia, afterwards establishing himself in New York City, where he enjoyed great popularity, though his conviviality and eccentric mode of life affected his work. He visited Baltimore, Charleston, and New Orleans, entertaining much and painting portraits of prominent people, particularly in New Orleans, where General Andrew Jackson was one of his sitters. He had for assistants at different times both Thomas Sully and Henry Inman. He affected singularity in dress and manners, and his mots were the talk of the day. But his work deteriorated, and he died in great poverty in New York City. Examples of his painting are in the collections of the New York Historical Society and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

External references

• Biography at Maryland ArtSource

External links

• Metropolitan Museum of Art Works by John Wesley Jarvis included in their Permanent Collection