Portrait of the Artist

Portrait of the Artist

John Vanderlyn

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vanderlyn, a New York native, executed this masterful self-portrait in Paris, where he had lived for four years; he was the first American-born painter to study in France. The work demonstrates the influence of Vanderlyn’s teacher, François-André Vincent, as well as that of the Neoclassical master Jacques-Louis David, who lauded the canvas at the Salon of 1800. The artist presented the portrait to his friend and patron, the American politician Aaron Burr. Vanderlyn’s fascination with France would later result in the spectacular "Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles" (1818–19; 52.184), also on view in the American Wing (gallery 735).

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.