From Alexander Hamilton to ———, [10 April 1793]
To ———
[Philadelphia, April 10, 1793]
Mr. Winstanlly1 brought me a letter of Introduction from Chief Justice Jay; stating him to be a Young Gentleman from England, who, without having made it a profession, had made some promising essays in Landscape Painting.
There are two views of situations on Hudson’s River painted by Mr Winstanly, in the drawing Room of Mrs. Washington, which have great intrinsic merit—and considered with reference to his opportunities, as related, announce a very superior genius in this branch of painting, worthy of encouragement.
A Hamilton
ALS, Mr. Hall Park McCullough, North Bennington, Vermont.
1. William Winstanley. Soon after the sale of his Hudson River landscapes to the President, Winstanley visited the area of the newly created Federal City to paint several landscapes of the Potomac which were also purchased by Washington. In 1795 he settled in New York City where he became a prominent portrait painter.