1. John Quidor was an American painter of historical and literary subjects.
11 Facts About John Quidor
1. 2.
John Quidor has about 35 known canvases, most of which are based on Washington Irving's stories about Dutch New York, drawing inspiration from the Hudson Valley and from such English painters as William Hogarth, Isaac Cruikshank, James Gillray, Joseph Wright of Derby, and George Morland.
3.
John Quidor's family moved to New York City in 1810.
4.
John Quidor felt that Jarvis did not pay sufficient attention to him, favoring Inman over him, leading John Quidor in 1822 to sue Jarvis for breach of indenture, winning damages of $251.35.
5.
John Quidor moved to Quincy, Illinois, in 1837, and, in 1844, purchased an $8,000 farm, which he paid for by painting eight large religious canvases based on engravings of works by Benjamin West.
6.
In 1851 John Quidor returned to New York where he stayed until his retirement in 1869.
7.
John Quidor simplified his compositions and used a narrower range of colors, which he thinned with varnish so that his stylized, nervously rendered figures nearly disappeared into hazy backgrounds.
8.
John Quidor lived in Jersey City, New Jersey, where his eldest daughter lived, from 1869 until his death in 1881.
9.
Little appreciated in his time, John Quidor was rediscovered as an important figure in American art after a 1942 exhibition of his works at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
10.
John Quidor's paintings establish a mysterious romantic setting for scenes in which he mingled macabre elements with an earthy humor.
11.
John Quidor sometimes painted religious subjects, such as Jesus Blessing the Sick.