Oil on board portrait of John David. American school. Late 18th century.  Near-contemporary gilt wood frame, 8 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. Visible 5 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. 

WELL-EXECUTED 18TH CENTURY OIL PAINTING OF EARLY PROMINENT MORAVIAN & PHILADELPHIAN

Ink inscription to verso reads in full: “John Cooch David. — Philadelphia. / husband of Susanna Bartow David / He was born April 3rd 1773 / Died June 19th 1809 6 am. / She was born January 10 1775 / Died October 20th 1843 at Bethlehem. Pa. / JCD Married to Susanna Bartow by / Rev John Medan at Philadelphia / June 30th 1796. / Susanna Bartow daughter of. / Son John David b. Philadelphia / April 21t 1797 d. Feb. 15th 1798 / burid [sic] in Moravian burying ground / of Phila.” 

John David (1773-1809) was a member of the Moravian Church in Pennsylvania, where hundreds lived on a commune in Bethlehem, about fifty miles northwest of Philadelphia. Bethlehem “was designed both as a model community whose members were devoted to God and as the home base and economic support for local and global missionary efforts.” Founded by Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf in 1720s Germany, the Pennsylvanian Moravians “shared in the emotional fervor of the First Great Awakening” and were encouraged to practice “a simple, childlike faith and trust in God and a mystical devotion to Jesus, focusing particularly on Jesus’s love and self-sacrifice for humanity.” 

[Art, Folk Art, Military Art, Etching, Engraving, Lithographs, Prints, Ephemera]