Portrait of John A. Willink

Using the standard technique of the miniaturist, the talented artist of this portrait captured both the subject’s distinctive appearance and self-assured demeanor with short, stippled strokes of watercolor applied with fine paintbrushes. A tiny dot of white paint in the pupil of each eye adds a spark of animation. Identified only by name, this sitter might be John Abraham Willink (1780/81–1852), a prominent New York businessman of Dutch descent who had a home in Flatbush, Brooklyn.