Portrait of Washington Irving (1783 - 1859).
John Wesley Jarvis, oil on wood panel, 1809.

The Jarvis portrait is one of the best known images of the writer, seen here as an author on the brink of literary success. Jarvis captured this image in 1809, a watershed year for the young writer.  Diedrich Knickerbocker's A History of New-York was published and acclaimed, serving as the basis for Irving's national reputation.  It was also during this year that Irving would experience a great personal tragedy, the death of his fiancee, Matilda Hoffmann.

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