Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764-1839)

Datec. 1819

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsSight: 23 1/2 × 19 5/16 in. (59.7 × 49.1 cm)

Object numberN0404.1955

Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextVan Rensselaer was one of the most important men in Albany in the early 19th century. The Sixth Lord of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck and last patron of the estate established by Killian Van Rensselaer in 1629, Stephen inherited over 2,000,000 acres which included all of Albany, Rensselaer and some of Columbia counties. Coming into his property as a minor in 1767, Van Rensselaer was unaffected by the new American laws against primogeniture and benefited from the rapid settlement of New York following the Revolution. By the 19th century, he was one of the richest men in America leasing his lands to tenant farmers and supporting such developments as the Erie canal and the first railroads. He served as an officer in the War of 1812 and held various state offices. In 1824 he founded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As an instrumental figure in the early history of the state, Van Rensselaer's portrait was painted on numerous occasions by such artists as Gilbert Stuart, Samuel F. B. Morse, Chester Harding and William Jewett. The Ames portrait was painted about 1819.
BibliographyMcClave, Elizabeth W., Stephen Van Rensselaer, III a Pictorial Reflection and Biographical Commentary (Belgium; Cultura Wettern, 1984), p. 10, ill.

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