William Axtell

John Wollaston

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wollaston’s arrival in New York from London in 1749 introduced to the colonies a new style of portraiture characterized by rich, brightly colored fabrics and sprightly, informal poses. The prominent West Indian merchant William Axtell (1720–1795) ordered this portrait for the larger of his two New York homes: the country place called Melrose Hall in Flatbush, Long Island (now Brooklyn). During the Revolutionary War, Axtell was commissioned by the British as a colonel for the corps of Long Island Loyalists. His American holdings were confiscated in 1784, after he fled New York for England.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art