John Watson (1685 – August 22, 1768) was an early American painter, born in Scotland.

Early life

Watson was born in Scotland in 1685, probably near

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

. He worked initially painting house interiors, before turning to portraiture.

Work in America

In 1715 he emigrated to

Perth Amboy Perth Amboy is a city in northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", re ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Watson bought property in the city east of Rector Street and south of St. Peter's Episcopal Church on the Perth Amboy bluffs and built himself a house in which to reside and one to keep his paintings. Early historian

William Dunlap William Dunlap (February 19, 1766 – September 28, 1839) was a pioneer of American theater. He was a producer, playwright, and actor, as well as a historian. He managed two of New York City's earliest and most prominent theaters, the John Str ...

believed this to be the first collection of art in America.Dunlap, William. ''A History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts and Design in the United States''. C.E. Goodspeed & Co: Boston, 1918. In 1776, his nephew, Alexander Watson, who was heir to his estate, withdrew from Perth Amboy, which was under pressure from colonial forces under General Hugh Mercer. Soldiers raided Watson's collection and, according to Dunlap, probably distributed and destroyed many of the portraits of English heroes and kings. Contrary to Dunlap's knowledge, however, numerous portraits by Watson still exist today. The

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historic research facility headquartered on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chron ...

has a portrait of Governor William Keith (shown on the left) and his wife, Lady Ann Keith

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Newberry or Newbury, and the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

has his portrait of Governor Lewis Morris. The

New Jersey Historical Society The New Jersey Historical Society is a historical society and museum located in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The Historical Society is housed in the former headquarters of the Essex Club. It has two floors of exhibition spac ...

has two portraits: one of William Eier, the first mayor of Perth Amboy, and one of Governor William Burnet. Watson died in 1768 and is buried in St. Peter's Episcopal Cemetery in Perth Amboy.

Gallery

File:Brooklyn Museum - Governor Lewis Morris - John Watson - overall.jpg, New Jersey Governor Lewis Morris File:WilliamKeith.JPG, Pennsylvania Governor William Keith File:WilliamBurnetByJohnWatson.jpg, New Jersey and New York Governor William Burnet

Artworks

Attributed artworks

References

Sources

* Inventories of American Painting (IAP), Smithsonian Institution Research Information System(SIRIS)
http://sirismm.si.edu/siris/aboutari.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John 1685 births 1768 deaths 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists American male painters Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies 18th-century Scottish painters 18th-century Scottish male artists Scottish male painters People from Dumfries and Galloway People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey Painters from New Jersey Scottish portrait painters American portrait painters