According to the Historical Society, John Durand’s group portrait of the four children of the prominent mercantile family of Manhattan is considered one of the finest examples of colonial painting in America. From left to right are Garret (b. 1757), George (b. 1759), Anne (b. 1762), and Jacques (b. 1752). Durand had come to New York from Virginia two years previous to paint individual portraits of the children of the Beekman family. Art historians suspect he was born or trained in France. Durand later returned to Virginia, where he continued to paint until his death in 1805.