Gustavus Hesselius (1682 – May 25, 1755) was a

Swedish-American Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants. Today, ...

painter. He was European trained and became a leading artist in the mid-Atlantic colonies during the first half of the eighteenth century. He was among the earliest portrait painters and organ builders in the United States. He was named to the

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...

Hall of Fame by the Prince George's County Historical Society.

Biography

Hesselius was born in Folkärna parish at

Avesta The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the li ...

Dalarna County Dalarna County ( sv, Dalarnas län) is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden ( Svealand). It borders on the counties of Uppsala, Jämtland, Gävleborg, Västmanland, Örebro and Värmland. It also borders on the Norwegian counties of Hed ...

, Sweden. He was the son of Andreas Olai Hesselius (1644-1700) and his wife Maria Bergia (c. 1658-1717). His father was the vicar at Folkärna Church. His mother was the sister-in-law of

Jesper Swedberg Jesper Swedberg (28 August 1653 (O.S)–26 July 1735 (N.S)) was a bishop of Skara, Sweden. He was one of Sweden's most notable churchmen. He published the first edition ever of a Swedish book of hymns in 1694, and was the father of scientist and ...

(1653–1735), Bishop of the

Diocese of Skara The Diocese of Skara ( sv, Skara stift) is the oldest existing diocese in Sweden, originally a Latin bishopric of the Roman Catholic church, and since Protestant reformation a Lutheran diocese of the Church of Sweden (the former state church o ...

and aunt of religious leader

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...

. Hesselius had studied art in Sweden and probably in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He came to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

in 1711 together with his elder brother Andreas Hesselius (1677-1733). His brother had been appointed to become parish priest of

Holy Trinity Church Holy Trinity Church may refer to: Albania * Holy Trinity Church (Berat), Berat County * Holy Trinity Church, Lavdar, Opar, Korçë County Armenia * Holy Trinity Church, Yerevan Australia * Garrison Church, Sydney, South Wales, also known as ''H ...

, the Swedish Lutheran parish at

Fort Christina Fort Christina (also called Fort Altena) was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Queen Christina of Sweden, it was located approximately 1 mi (1. ...

. He lived in Delaware until 1717, then moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

where he lived until 1721. In 1721, he moved to

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ( ...

and became a portrait painter. That same year, he received the first recorded public art commission in the American colonies; he painted '' The Last Supper''. He also painted a ''

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Cartha ...

''. Some time around 1735, Hesselius returned to Philadelphia where he spent the rest of his life. He also worked as an organ builder, having built an organ for the

Moravian Church , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Pr ...

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19,3 ...

in 1746. From about this time on, he focused on building organs with the assistance of John Clemm (1690–1762). He referred painting commissions to his son John.

Personal life

Gustavus Hesselius was married to Lydia Getchie (1684-1755). He was the father of painter

John Hesselius John Hesselius (1728–1778) was an American portrait painter who worked mostly in Virginia and Maryland. He was the son of the Swedish-born portraitist Gustavus Hesselius. He painted the portraits of many wealthy politicians and planters in ...

(1728–1778). His granddaughter Elizabeth Henderson was married to artist Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller (1751-1811). Hesselius was listed as a member of the

Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church Gloria Dei Church, known locally as Old Swedes, is a historic church located in the Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 929 South Water Street, bounded by Christian Street on the north, South Christopher Columbus Boulevard ( ...

in Philadelphia. He died during 1755 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and was buried on the 25th at Gloria Dei Church.

Style

While most of his portraits adhere to the formality typical for American portrait painting of his time, according to Michael J. Lewis, his portrait of

Lappawinsoe Lappawinsoe was a Lenape chief. His name signifies "gathering fruit" or "going away to gather food". Lappawinsoe sold the land of his tribe to Thomas Penn (1702-1775), and John Penn ("the American") (1700-1746), the sons of William Penn (1644-1 ...

, chief of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

, was among the first to foreshadow "the sympathetic and unaffected realism" that would later develop in American portraiture. The painter was able to ignore the rigid conventions of colonial society because Lappawinsoe was a member of a First Nation.

''The Last Supper''

''The Last Supper'' by Gustavus Hesselius was the first recorded public art commission in the American colonies. Commissioned in October 1721, it is displayed on the choir gallery of St. Barnabas Church, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Before this, most painting in the new world had been portraits. ''The Last Supper'' was the first significant American painting to depict a scene. The painting which measures 35 inches by 117½ inches was commissioned for an older church built in 1710, and remained there until the present structure was built in 1774. It disappeared during the construction of the new Brick Church and did not surface again until it was discovered in a private collection in 1848 or 1914, when Charles Henry Hart identified it, depending on which source one follows. It was on loan by Rose Neel Warrington for a period at the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin F ...

and at the American Swedish Historical Museum as well as the Exhibition of Early American Paintings at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1917 and the

Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the arti ...

. The painting was willed once again to St. Barnabas upon Warrington's death.

Gallery

Gustavus Hesselius-Lapowinsa.jpg, ''Portrait of

'', (1735). Benjamin Fendall I, Esq 2.GIF, ''Portrait of

Benjamin Fendall I Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's th ...

'' Eleanor (Lee) Fendall.JPG, ''Portrait of Eleanor Fendall'' Mary Darnall Carroll.jpg, ''Portrait of Mary Darnall Carroll'' Attributed to Gustavus Hesselius - Dr. Gustavus Brown - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Dr. Gustavus Brown''; attributed to Gustavus Hesselius Attributed to Gustavus Hesselius - Mrs. Gustavus Brown - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Mrs. Gustavus Brown''; attributed to Gustavus Hesselius Lawrence Washington.jpg, ''Portrait of Lawrence Washington''

Other significant works

*''Lapowinsa'', by Gustavus Hessulius, c. 1735. Oil on canvas, 33 × 25 in (83.8 × 63.5 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. *''Tishcohan'', by Gustavus Hessulius, c. 1735. Oil on canvas, 33 × 25 in (83.8 × 63.5 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. *''Thomas Bordley'', by Gustavus Hesselius, c. 1715. Oil on canvas. 27 × 22 41/64 in.(68.6 × 57.5 cm). Maryland Historical Society Accession: 1891-2-1 *''Mrs. Charles Carroll, the "Settler", by Gustavus Hesselius, c. 1717–1720. Oil on canvas. 30 7/64 × 25 13/64 in. (76.5 × 64.0 cm). Maryland Historical Society Accession: 1949-64-1 *''Col. Leonard Hollyday'', by Gustavus Hesselius, c. 1740. Oil on canvas. 27 55/64 × 23 7/64 in. (70.8 × 58.7 cm). Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1960-88-1

References

Other sources

*Fleischer, Roland E (1987) ''Gustavus Hesselius: Face Painter to the Middle Colonies'' (Trenton: New Jersey State Museum)

External links

The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives.
Gustavus Hesselius
Smithsonian American Art Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Hesselius, Gustavus 1682 births 1755 deaths People from Dalarna County Swedish emigrants to the United States 18th-century Swedish painters 18th-century Swedish male artists Swedish male painters People from Prince George's County, Maryland 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists American male painters Artists from Philadelphia Painters from Maryland Painters from Pennsylvania American pipe organ builders