Mordecai Myers

Artist John Wesley Jarvis (American, 1781-1840)

Dateabout 1810

DimensionsFrame: 41 1/2 × 34 5/8 × 4 in. (105.4 × 87.9 × 10.2 cm)

MediumOil on wood panel

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1950.275

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 29

Label TextMordecai Myers (1776–1870), a member of a distinguished Jewish family, was born in Newport, R.I. and raised in New York City. Early in his military career Myers served in the New York State militia. He was commissioned a captain in the 13th Infantry of the regular Army when the War of 1812 broke out—the second war fought between America and Great Britain and instigated by Britain’s interference with American sovereignty. In 1813 Myers was seriously wounded fighting in the Battle of Crysler’s Farm on the Niagara frontier. During his subsequent political career, Myers served six terms in the New York General Assembly beginning in 1828. He eventually moved to Schenectady, where he was mayor during the 1850s. Myers’ circle of friends included Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and Martin van Buren. Myers probably sat for his portrait with New York-based portraitist John Wesley Jarvis in late 1813 or early 1814, after he had recovered from his war injuries.Published ReferencesJulian-James, C., Biographical Sketches of the Bailey-Myers-Mason Families, 1776-1905, Washington, 1908, p. 16, repr. p. 8.

London, Hanna R., Portraits of Jews by Gilbert Stuart and Other Early American Artists, New York, 1927, pp. 37-8, repr. p. 131.

Dickson, Harold E., John Wesley Jarvis, New York, 1949, p. 380, no. 385.

Lowell, R., Life Studies, New York, 1949, pp. 11-13.

Marcus, J., Memoirs of American Jews, 1775-1865, Philadelphia, 1955, pencil sketch as frontispiece.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, American Paintings, Toledo, 1979, pp. 65-6, pl. 14.

Rogers, Millard F., "Artists of a New Nation," The Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 2, no. 2, Autumn 1959, pp. 8-9, repr. p. 10.

Young, Mahonri Sharp, "From Howling Wilderness to Queensborough Bridge," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 497, repr. fig. 6, p. 498.

Chartrand, René, Uniforms and Equipment of the United States Forces in the War of 1812, Youngstown, NY, 1992, repr. p. 71.

Goldberg, Marcia, "Textured Panels in 19th-Century American Painting," Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, vol. 32, no. 1, Spr. 1993, pp. 36-37, fig. 2.

Graves, Donald E., Field of Glory: The Battle of Crysler's Farm, 1813, Toronto, 1999, p. 39, repr. [additional information on Myers in this book].

Wolfman, Ira, Jewish New York: Notable Neighborhoods and Memorable Moments, New York, Universe, 2003, p. 15, repr.

Exhibition HistoryNew York, IBM Gallery of Science and Art, American Paintings from the Toledo Museum of Art, 1986.

New York, The Jewish Museum; Baltimore, The Maryland Historical Society, Facing the New World: Jewish Portraits in Colonial and Federal America, 1997-98, no. 43, p. 63, repr., pl. 8 (col.).