Cadwallader Colden

Art Historical Context

Step into the refined world of colonial America with John Wollaston's portrait *Cadwallader Colden painted between 1749 and 1752. This oil on canvas work, measuring 30 x 25 inches, captures the sitter in the tradition of 18th-century portraiture showcasing the elegance and status of its subject. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, it reflects the growing sophistication of artistic patronage in the British colonies, where such paintings served as markers of wealth and prominence. Wollaston, English-born artist who traveled through the American colonies, brought a fashiona...

About the Artist

John Wollaston · 1700–1800

John Wollaston (active c. 1710–1775) was an English portrait painter who brought sophisticated Rococo styles from London to the British North American colonies, becoming one of the most prolific artists in the region during the mid-18th century. Little is known of his early life beyond his likely birth in London as the son of a painter—possibly named John Wollaston or John Woolston, according to H...