John Vanderlyn was the first American painter to study in Paris, France, the first to exhibit and win a medal at a French Salon, and the first successful advocate of the French-inspired Neoclassical style of painting. The son and grandson of painters, young Vanderlyn secured a position in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studio of painter Gilbert Stuart and also studied in Paris, France; and Rome and Florence, Italy, between 1796 and 1815. Vanderlyn returned to the United States in 1815 and exhibited his work in New Orleans in 1821 and 1828. Primarily known for his portraits, Vanderlyn was also the first artist to produce historical and landscape panoramas in the United States including his best-known panorama, Palace and Garden of Versailles, but he largely supported himself with portraits of noted people, including George Washington, James Monroe, and Andrew Jackson.

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Andrew Jackson, Courtesy of the Gibbs Museum

Pierre Verlon de Gruy, Courtesy of the Louisiana State Museum

James Porter, Courtesy of the Louisiana State Museum

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