Grace Mendes Seixas Nathan (Mrs. Simon Nathan) and Her Son Seixas Nathan
Grace Mendes Seixas Nathan was born in Connecticut in 1752 to a patriotic, literary Jewish family. In 1780, she married the British merchant Simon Nathan, a supporter of the American Revolution who arrived in colonial America in 1773. Their son Seixas, born in 1785, was one of the signers of the New York Stock Exchange’s constitution and the president of Congregation Shearith Israel, the first Jewish congregation established in North America. Silhouette portraits cut from paper, affordable and easy to obtain, were popular before the advent of photography.
Credits
Private collection.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 6.
You may also like
Illustrated Daily Prayer Book
Following his retirement, Hijman Binger created a daily prayer book, drawing its texts from well-known sources and illustrating the manuscript with the help of his children. Completed in 1820, the…
Medal from Dedication of the Munich Synagogue in 1826
I. W. Loewenbach’s medal commemorating the dedication of the new synagogue in Munich (1826) is among the earliest German synagogue medals. On one side of the medal, one sees the façade of the…
Torah Curtain
This Torah curtain was made in Ankara, Turkey. The motifs of a central menorah and hands making the priestly blessing were common in other Ottoman Jewish ritual folk art. Embroidered verses from the…
Jewish Women from Izmir Whitewashing
In the nineteenth century, especially in the era before photography, it was common for artists to travel to exotic or picturesque locations in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, and to produce…
Portrait of Cecilie Freiin von Eskeles
Cecilie Freiin von Eskeles (1760–1836) was noted for her salon, which attracted leading musical, literary, and intellectual figures. Daughter of the court Jew Daniel Itzig, she brought the Berlin…
Saada the Wife of Abraham Benchimol and Préciada, One of Their Daughters
In 1832, after the French conquest of Algeria, French artist Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) traveled to North Africa, creating a series of paintings and drawings that exoticized scenes of daily life in…
You may also like
Illustrated Daily Prayer Book
Following his retirement, Hijman Binger created a daily prayer book, drawing its texts from well-known sources and illustrating the manuscript with the help of his children. Completed in 1820, the…
Medal from Dedication of the Munich Synagogue in 1826
I. W. Loewenbach’s medal commemorating the dedication of the new synagogue in Munich (1826) is among the earliest German synagogue medals. On one side of the medal, one sees the façade of the…
Torah Curtain
This Torah curtain was made in Ankara, Turkey. The motifs of a central menorah and hands making the priestly blessing were common in other Ottoman Jewish ritual folk art. Embroidered verses from the…
Jewish Women from Izmir Whitewashing
In the nineteenth century, especially in the era before photography, it was common for artists to travel to exotic or picturesque locations in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, and to produce…
Portrait of Cecilie Freiin von Eskeles
Cecilie Freiin von Eskeles (1760–1836) was noted for her salon, which attracted leading musical, literary, and intellectual figures. Daughter of the court Jew Daniel Itzig, she brought the Berlin…
Saada the Wife of Abraham Benchimol and Préciada, One of Their Daughters
In 1832, after the French conquest of Algeria, French artist Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) traveled to North Africa, creating a series of paintings and drawings that exoticized scenes of daily life in…