John Vanderlyn (1775-1852)
Oil on canvas, c1815-1819
Gift of the Partnership for New York City, Inc.
NYSM 2003.41.43

A prosperous New York City merchant, Denning distinguished himself in Revolutionary War and post-colonial New York State politics. In 1775 he was a member of the city’s committee of safety, a.k.a. the Committee of One Hundred. Later in the 1770s he was deputy to the New York Provincial Congress and a member of the convention of state representatives. After the Revolution he served in the State Assembly and the State Senate.

Said to have been painted “from life” early in the 19th century, this portrait was probably created after Vanderlyn’s return to the U. S. from Europe in 1815 and before Denning’s death in 1819. During this post-1815 period Vanderlyn painted portraits of various eminent men, including governors Joseph C. Yates and George Clinton of New York.