John Quidor

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John Quidor (kĬdôr, January 26, 1801 - December 13, 1881) was an American figure and historical painter who studied with John Wesley Jarvis and Henry Inman. He was born in Gloucester Co., N. J., and in 1826 moved to New York City where he studied painting. Afterward he lived on a farm near Quincy, Ill., but returned to New York City in 1851. He was obliged to support himself by painting the panels of stage coaches and fire engines and died in abject poverty. Though Quidor was little appreciated in his own time, after his death he was accorded a place among the best early American artists. He was a personal friend of Washington Irving, whose Knickerbocker History of New York gave him the subjects for the four paintings in the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Institute: "Dancing on the Battery" (c. 1860), "Peter Stuyvesant's Wall Street Gate" (1864), "Voyage of the Good Oloff up the Hudson" (1866), and "The Voyage from Communipaw to Hell Gate" (1866). These show the mellow and harmonious color, poetic imagination, and naïve humor which have gained Quidor tardy recognition as one of the most gifted of early American painters. He is represented in the Brooklyn Museum by three paintings: Dorothea, Money Diggers, and Wolfert's Will. He also painted religious subjects such as "Jesus Blessing the Sick." His work was usually on a large scale.

Quidor is also known for his scenes inspired by the writings of Washington Irving such as "Ichabod Crane Pursued by the Headless Horseman" on display at Yale University. Quidor often provided a mysterious romantic setting for scenes in which he mingled macabre elements with an earthy humor. A 1942 monograph by J. Baur is available about the artist and his work.

• This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.