Nathaniel Jocelyn (January 31, 1796 – January 13, 1881) was an American painter and engraver best known for his portraits of

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

and of the slave revolt leader

Joseph Cinqué Sengbe Pieh (), also known as Joseph Cinqué or Cinquez and sometimes referred to mononymously as Cinqué, was a West African man of the Mende people who led a revolt of many Africans on the Spanish slave ship '' La Amistad'' in July 1839. After ...

Family and education

Nathaniel Jocelyn was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, the son of

clockmaker A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly t ...

and engraver Simeon Jocelin and Luceanah Smith. He trained under his father as a

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

, later taking up drawing, engraving, and

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

. He studied engraving with George Munger around 1813; they published at least one print together under the name Jocelin & Munger. In 1817, Munger painted one of the few known portraits of Jocelyn. The inventor

Eli Whitney Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South. Whitney's ...

also helped to foster his career, and in 1820 he briefly worked in the studio of Samuel F. B. Morse. Later, in 1829–30, he furthered his education by touring Europe with Morse and the architect

Ithiel Town Ithiel Town (October 3, 1784 – June 13, 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the f ...

. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, at the age of 16, he volunteered for the

Governor's Foot Guard The Governor's Guards of Connecticut are four distinct units of the Connecticut State Guard, a part of the organized militia under the Connecticut State Militia. There are two foot guard units and two horse guard units. All four units are formed ...

, which defended the city of

Madison, Connecticut Madison is a New England town, town in the southeastern corner of New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, occupying a central location on Connecticut's Long Island Sound shoreline. The town is part of the South ...

. In 1818, he married Sarah Atwater Plant of New Haven. They had six daughters and a son, Isaac, who died at the age of six.

Career

In 1817, Jocelyn moved to

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, where helped set up the Hartford Graphic and Bank Note Engraving Company. From 1820 to 1822 he lived in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, where he established himself as a painter of portraits and miniatures. On returning to New Haven in 1822, he continued as a portraitist. He was an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, and among his sitters were several notable abolitionists, including

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

. Garrison declared that Jocelyn's portrait was a "tolerable likeness," but remarked that "those who imagine that I am a monster, on seeing it will... deny its accuracy, seeing no horns about the head." Another of Jocelyn's well-known works is his 1839 portrait of

, leader of a revolt on the Spanish slave ship ''

La Amistad ''La Amistad'' (; Spanish for ''The Friendship'') was a 19th-century two-masted schooner owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba. It became renowned in July 1839 for a slave revolt by Mende captives who had been captured and sold to European slav ...

''. Jocelyn and his brother Simeon were also active in seeking legal counsel for Cinqué's defense. In 1827 he was elected an Associate of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

, and he became a full Academician in 1846. Throughout his career, he often showed work at the academy's annual exhibitions. Jocelyn continued as an engraver alongside his portrait business. In the 1830s, he and his brother Simeon Smith Jocelyn founded and ran an engraving company under the name N. & S. S. Jocelyn. From 1843 to 1847, Jocelyn had a second portrait studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His New Haven studio burned in 1849, and for a time he gave up painting for engraving, initially with the firm of Toppan, Carpenter & Co. He went on to found the National Bank Note Engraving Company, where he served as head of the art department through to the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. After the war, he returned to painting, working out of a studio provided for him at the recently founded

Yale School of Art The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Master of Fine Arts, Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in g ...

, where he served as curator of Italian art. He retired in 1864 and died in New Haven.

Legacy

In 1858, Jocelyn and his brother gave a piece of land to the city of New Haven to be used as public park and playground. It is now known as Jocelyn Square. Many of Jocelyn's portraits are in the collection of Yale University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jocelyn, Nathaniel American portrait painters 19th-century American painters American male painters Artists from New Haven, Connecticut 1796 births 1881 deaths Burials at Grove Street Cemetery 19th-century American male artists