Williampe Hendrickson Longstreet Pitney

Periodca. 1818 -1820

MediumPastel on paper

Dimensions25 × 21 in. (63.5 × 53.3 cm)

InscribedTwo handwritten inscriptions were formerly affixed to the backing, the longer of which reads, "Willimpe Hendrickson / Born - Feb - 2 - 1761 - / Married - first - to / Aaron Longstreet. / Her second marriage / to Dr. Aaron Pitney - / who died Oct. 1 1837 / Great-Grandmother / of / John L. Ely and / William H. Ely." The second reads, "W. Hendrick Hendrickson / Born April 28 - 1737 / his daughter Williampe Hendrickson / Born / Feb 2 - 1761."

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1936

Object number1984.501

DescriptionThree-quarter length portrait of a mature female facing right. She is heavy set, with medium brown eyes and dark brown hair. Her clothing consists of a black dress, gray fringed shawl over a white shawl, and a simple white day cap with a double ruffle edging that is tied with a black ribbon under her chin. Her left arm supports her right arm, and she is holding a leather bound book in her right hand. The background is a deep blue that has lightened to a paler, almost mint green, halo effect around the sitter. Mounted on wood stretchers with a few fragments of a newspaper lining surviving, one of which bears a date of 7 December 1814.
Curatorial RemarksWilliampe Hendrickson, in her mid-fifties at the time of this portrait, wore garments that indicated conservative tastes. She wore her close-fitting plain cap tied snugly under her chin. Williampe layered two shawls atop her black dress: a white kerchief, possibly of linen, and a dark gray shawl with fine fringe along its edges, possibly of silk. The blacks, grays, and browns of this quiet and sensitive portrait indicate the artist’s mastery of an almost monochromatic palette, capturing the quiet dignity of this older woman. There are two known portraits of Williampe Hendrickson by Micah Williams. The first is in the collection of Monmouth County Historical Association, while the second portrait is in the collection of the Monmouth County Park System. Micah Williams did not merely copy a single image but created two distinctly different likeness of Williampe. Although the subject wore the same outfit in both portraits, the two versions are mirror images of one another. The background in each portrait is quite different, with a vivid blue green in one and a much darker blue in the other. The Association’s version above is oriented to the viewer’s right, while the Monmouth County Park System’s portrait of Williampe is oriented to the viewer’s left.NotesWilliampe Hendrickson (1761 - 1837) was a daughter of Hendrick Hendrickson (1737-1811) and Lydia Covenhoven (1738-1802). She married Aaron Longstreet (1753-1800) on 9 March 1778. The couple had five children. Aaron Longstreet died in 1800 at the age of forty-seven. His widow married a second time to Dr. Aaron Pitney (d. 1815). Williampe’s father, Hendrick Hendrickson, built the original structure now known as Longstreet Farm on the corner of Roberts Road in Holmdel. The house is still standing and is part of the Monmouth County Park System. In 1806, Hendrickson deeded the house and property to his grandson, Williampe’s son Hendrick.

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