This is one of the six portraits of his eldest children James Beekman (1732-1807) commissioned from John Durand in the 1760s. Mary Beekman, known as both Maria and Polly, is pictured here at age two. The young girl embraces a lamb, a traditional symbol of innocence and Christian virtue, while the flowers strewn about signify femininity. She later married Stephen N. Bayard, uniting the Beekmans with another prominent New York family of Dutch heritage. John Durand (1731-1805) first began working in Virginia in 1765, but by 1766 had moved to New York City to paint portraits of the Beekman children for their father James Beekman. Durand’s background and training are unknown, but his use of rococo colors, interest in historical paintings and reference to his name in French lead art historians to believe he was born or trained in France. He left New York in 1768 as one of the city’s most celebrated painters and returned to Virginia, where he lived for most of the remainder of his life. The style of his late work executed in Virginia changed notably, never garnering him the critical acclaim and popular response his early New York portraits had received. All six portraits of the Beekman children bear elaborately carved and gilded frames by the New York carver James Strachan, which are superior examples of rococo ornament, a style all the rage among the American colonial elite during the mid-eighteenth century. The children's portraits, as well as those of James Beekman and his wife, remained in the Beekman family until presented to the New-York Historical Society through the Beekman Family Association.

This is one of the six portraits of his eldest children James Beekman (1732-1807) commissioned from John Durand in the 1760s. Catharine Beekman, nicknamed Caty, is shown at age five holding a bird, a common household pet in colonial America and perhaps the bird James purchased for his wife in 1764. That the young girl could train a bird to perch on her hand was a sign of her exceptional character. Caty also fingers the stem of a potted flowering plant placed on an architectural pediment, a pose strikingly similar to that of the Duchess of Bolton, as depicted in a popular engraving of the time. According to her father’s account book, Caty attended the school of Mrs. Ann Rogers from 1770 to 1773 and that of Lydia Belknap in 1773. In 1805 she married Elisha Boudinot, a lawyer and New Jersey Supreme Court Justice. John Durand (1731-1805) first began working in Virginia in 1765, but by 1766 had moved to New York City to paint portraits of the Beekman children for their father James Beekman. Durand’s background and training are unknown, but his use of rococo colors, interest in historical paintings and reference to his name in French lead art historians to believe he was born or trained in France. He left New York in 1768 as one of the city’s most celebrated painters and returned to Virginia, where he lived for most of the remainder of his life. The style of his late work executed in Virginia changed notably, never garnering him the critical acclaim and popular response his early New York portraits had received. All six portraits of the Beekman children bear elaborately carved and gilded frames by the New York carver James Strachan, which are superior examples of rococo ornament, a style all the rage among the American colonial elite during the mid-eighteenth century. The children's portraits, as well as those of James Beekman and his wife, remained in the Beekman family until presented to the New-York Historical Society through the Beekman Family Association.

Daniel Huntington is best known as a portraitist but also painted landscapes as well as genre and allegorical subjects. This work, executed in grand-manner fashion, depicts a scholar teaching the Bible, presumably, to two young women who appear to represent temporal and spiritual beauty. The painting also reflects Huntington's extensive study of Old Master history painting from the Renaissance and Baroque periods during several trips to Europe. The richly adorned and distracted woman at the left recalls similar figures in the work of the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), while the more modest and attentive central figure resembles women depicted by the English pre-Raphaelite artists. The scholar at the right recalls similar figures by the Venetian Renaiisance painter Paolo Veronese (1528-1588). Other art historical references include the illuminated manuscript page depicting St. Luke, the patron saint of artists, at his easel, and the painting in the background alcove depicting the Madonna and Child enthroned. The painting bears an exceptional American frame that combines the traditional use of gold leaf with the dark hand carved wood associated with aesthetic movement frames.

By utilizing subdued and bleak hues of gray and brown, the artist mixes a kind of routine perfunctory with a quiet sense of ever-present amazement at the architectural wonder of the Brooklyn Bridge. By adding the non-gendered yet true-to-life human element, the artist embodies a sense of reticent enduring appreciation that transcends all attempts at verbalized praise. Originally a European artist, Bella de Tirefort moved to NYC producing many works, which he often sold in Washington Sq.

Native New Yorker Ethel Jackson, the great-granddaughter of the artist Henry Inman, was a singer and actress whose career dated from the turn of the century. Although she regularly appeared on Broadway, she is primarily remembered for her role as Sonia in the first New York production of Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow at the New Amsterdam Theatre. As for her personal life, she was married first to J. Frederick Zimmerman, Jr., then to Benoni Lockwood, Jr., and finally to George McLeod Baynes.

Known for depicting some of NYC's poorest blocks, Howard Thain uses "New York Back Yard Scene" to represent a run of the mill day in a lower income NYC neighborhood during the roaring twenties. This painting provides a fascinating look at the working class mixture of daily responsibilities, as represented by hanging laundry, with archetypal roaring twenties revelry, as shown by the footloose bobbed-haired woman in white being applauded by plainly dressed children.

In this view "from the other side of the river," -- either the East or the Hudson and therefore from Brooklyn or New Jersey, respectively -- the painting depicts the basic workings of the harbor, exemplified by the 'common' laborer and the working vessels.

This portrait is one of twelve portraits of eminent Americans presented by the artist to the New-York Historical Society between 1930 and 1933. The artist was a guest in the home of the former president for two weeks while he painted this portrait.

Painted from an apartment window overlooking the Eastside Drive as it neared completion in the early 1940s, this view is unusual for the absence of traffic on what was to become a daylong bearer of auto traffic around Manhattan's periphery. Inna Garsoian was born in the North Caucasus and trained as a painter in Moscow and then at the Petrograd Academy. Moving to Paris, she became an assistant designer of costumes and scenery for Diaghilev's Ballet Russes, work she continued in the theater after her 1933 emigration to New York.

Iconic Brooklyn Bridge repeatedly captures artists' imaginations, never more so than in this nocturn. Gaon prefers night scenes and views Manhattan's bridges as the pillars upon which the City's urban vibrancy is built.