Portraits on the Walls of City Hall

The foreign dignitaries who are convening at the United Nations this week will certainly be the subjects of many photographs, but in the 19th century, honored guests were entered into New York City history with painted portraits. And a tour through the Governor’s Room of City Hall shows off a legacy of hospitality.Since its completion in the early 19th century, the Governor’s Room has served as a museum and a space for ceremonial use. It houses one of the largest collections of American portraiture and furnishings, including a set of paintings that are especially valuable for their original framing.Of the 108 paintings hanging in the Governor’s Room, almost all have a “lived connection,” according to the director of research at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Mary Beth Betts. Typically, the city commemorated visits from high-level public officials by commissioning a painting. To that end, the space houses priceless portraits of important figures from the Colonies, the American Revolution, and New York State government.Many notable 19th-century painters have contributed to the art that lines the walls. John Trumbull’s 1790 portrait of George Washington dominates the main room, but Trumbull contributed nine other paintings to the collection. Among them are a 1791 portrait of Governor George Clinton, wearing his Brigadier-General uniform, an 1805 portrait of John Jay, and an 1805 painting of DeWitt Clinton when he was mayor. A later George Catlin portrait (1827) of Dewitt Clinton commemorates his time as governor of New York.Samuel F.B. Morse’s portrait of Christopher Columbus from 1828 has a vague origin. It is a copy (made by Morse) of a copy of an original painting dated from 1592. On March 12, 1784, the state legislature accepted the gift of “an ancient portrait of the celebrated discoverer of America.” The portrait was moved several times and on November 19, 1827, the Committee on Repairs recommended that an artist be commissioned to copy it, which Morse did in 1828. The first copy was destroyed by fire in Albany in 1911, but the Morse copy — for which he charged the Council $90.50, including the frame — still remains.The most mysterious painting comes from Paul Van Somer, tentatively titled “Henry Hudson.” Dated 1620, the portrait is ostensibly of Henry Hudson, but the explorer had perished in the Hudson Bay nine years earlier, leading historians to believe that the subject is actually a high-ranking Spaniard.Amidst the paintings of American heroes are many pieces of furniture from the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the furniture is original to City Hall, including two high-cupboard desks, a dining table, two sofas, and 24 mahogany side chairs built by New York cabinetmaker Charles Christian in 1814. Charles-Honoré Lannuier, a Paris-trained cabinetmaker who migrated to New York in 1803, produced the set of mahogany armchairs that originally were meant for Common Council chambers and moved into the Governor’s Room in the 1840s.Lining the walls of the building in other areas are mayoral portraits commissioned at the end of each mayor’s term in office. All of the paintings are still in their original frames, which is less impressive among the modern portraits. Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg have yet to commission their likenesses, but Mayor Ed Koch’s portrait is there. It stands out because, rather than a traditional painting, he was captured in photographic portrait. Its wood frame is strikingly simple in contrast to the gilt frames that line the walls throughout the building.Starting in 2006, a restoration process was begun to clean the portrait collection of the dust, dirt, and debris that have collected over the years. Many of the portraits have been hanging in the building for more than 200 years, and more than 50 of them were in need of repair. The process is now complete, and the refinished paintings bring back to life a collection well worth the trip to City Hall.Tours of City Hall and the Governor’s Room can be arranged by calling 311 or visitingnyc.gov/html/artcom/html/tours/reserve_tour.shtml.

Portraits on the Walls of City Hall

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