Micah Williams Portrait Artist - Icompendium

cAtAlogue no. 68
100 Micah Williams: Portrait Artist Micah Williams: Portrait Artist 101
Unknown Artist
Micah Williams
(1782 -1837)
Oil on wood panel
New York, New York, circa 1832
18 ½ x 16 ½ inches
Monmouth County Historical Association:
Marshall P. Blankarn Purchasing Fund
and Museum Purchase, 1980
1980.3.3
Sometime prior to his return to
New Brunswick, Micah Williams posed
for his own portrait by an unknown artist.
The small oval image, only ten inches
high, was painted on a thin wood panel.
The currently unidentified artist was
exceptionally talented. The composition,
shading, and balance of light and dark
tones indicate that the artist had received
formal academic training in portraiture.
Micah Williams, who had helped
hundreds of his patrons decide upon
their portrait details, now made the
same decisions for his own likeness. He
chose to prominently display his artist’s
palette complete with daubs of paint
and two thin paint brushes. Williams
was a slightly built man, with thinning
sandy-colored hair above a narrow face.
He dressed simply for his portrait and
wore a plain white shirt without ruffle
or bow under a somber black coat and
waistcoat. Williams positioned himself
on a red upholstered chair or sofa, which
can be seen behind his right shoulder.
While it is known that Williams
moved to New York sometime in 1828
or early 1829 to continue his efforts in
oil painting, it remains a mystery with
whom he studied. The existence of this
small oval portrait suggests that he
studied with or befriended at least one
academically trained artist during his
three years in New York.
It is more than likely that the unknown
artist presented this image to Micah
Williams as a farewell gift. Williams
took the portrait with him when he
returned to New Brunswick sometime
in 1831 or 1832. The likeness descended
within the Williams family. His great
granddaughter Anna I. Morgan was
the last direct descendant to own the
portrait. Monmouth County Historical
Association purchased the image in
1980 after her death.