Women in the 19C United States of America: 19C American Women by William Jennys 1774-1858

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

19C American Women by William Jennys 1774-1858

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858), Unknown Woman

William Jennys, an itinerant portraitist, was painting in the vicinity of New Milford, Connecticut in the mid-1790s, & then in New York City. After 1800, he was traveling from the Connecticut River Valley into Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, & even ventured into the southern states.

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Young Lady. 1800-1802

William Matthew Jennys was born in Boston, Massachusettes, the son of itinerant portrait painter Richard Jennys & his wife Sarah Ireland. The elder Jennys painted & taught painting in Charleston & Savannah, before returning to Connecticut in 1791, to paint with his son William & to open another painting school. The younger Jennys trained with his father; & initially, they traveled together seeking commissions. William's style was more realistic than his father's. The younger Jennys could portray the personalities of his subjects but had a little difficulty with arms & hands.

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Woman with a Fan.

Although William first advertised alone in the Norwich, Connecticut Packet in 1792-3, it took him about 10 years to become financially secure enought to settle in one place for a while. During that time, he worked in Milford, Connecticut, & was listed in the New York City directories as a portraitist in 1797-98. In 1804, he finally settled in Newburyport, Massachusetts, where, during the next 5 years he had the most productive period of his career, completing 35 portraits. He lived there, except for a year, when he traveled to the Bahamas after the death of his father. When he returned to the United States, he worked as a comb maker in New York City. After 1817, he moved to Littleton, New Hampshire, with his wife, where he lived until his death in 1859.

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Portrait of a Woman

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Mrs. Chandler of Vermont. 1800-1802

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Mrs. Asa Benjamin. 1795

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Joanna Hoyt. 1802

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Elizabeth Stone Coffin

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Woman Wearing High Waist Bow and Bonnet with Matching Bow

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858). Mrs. Cooke.

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858), Brown-Haired Young Woman

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858), Peggy Ashley of Westfield, Massachusetts

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858) Brown-Haired Woman with Book

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858) Mary Grove (Mrs. Cephas Smith Jr & Child)

William Jennys (American artist, 1774-1858) Woman with a Fan.

About this blog

In colonial America, men were considered superior to woman in all ways. In a strict patriarchal hierarchy, men controlled not only wealth & political power but also how their children were raised, religious questions, & all matters of right & wrong.

In the early part of the 19Cy, however, many Americans experienced a revolution in gender. The doctrine of “separate spheres” maintained that woman’s sphere was the world of privacy, family, & morality while man’s sphere was the public world -– economic striving, political maneuvering, & social competition. But women were interested in equality.

In 1848, New York passed the Married Woman’s Property Act. Now a woman wasn’t automatically liable for her husband’s debts; she could enter contracts on her own; she could collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right; she could file a lawsuit on her own behalf. She became for economic purposes, an individual. By 1900, every state has passed legislation modeled after this, granting married women some control over their property and earnings.

In 1870 after the Civi War, the 15th Amendment was ratified, saying, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” African-Americans could vote, but women could not.

But it was not until 1920, that the 19th Amendment was ratified granting women the right to vote. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”