The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of May 4, 2024
Wilson Cary Nicholas
c. 1805
(American, 1755–1828)
Unframed: 72.8 x 59.8 cm (28 11/16 x 23 9/16 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
Wilson Cary Nicholas was born January 31, 1761, into a politically powerful family from Williamsburg, Virginia. In 1781, he left William and Mary College to join the Continental Army, in which he commanded George Washington’s lifeguard until it was disbanded in 1783. As a member of the Constitutional Convention, he returned to Virginia to campaign for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in that state, where it passed by a margin of only ten votes. He then served several terms in the House of Delegates before being elected to the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. He became the governor of Virginia in 1814, retiring in 1819 due to poor health and spending his remaining days in the home of his son-in-law, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, President Thomas Jefferson’s grandson. He died on October 20, 1820, and is buried at Monticello, the president’s former estate.- family of the sitter, to Mrs. Leonard Hewett, Louisville, Kentucky (1926). Emeline Brownlee, Fairfield, Connecticut (1966). Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Moseley.
- Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1992." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (1993): 38-79. Reproduced: p. 58; Mentioned: p. 66 www.jstor.org
- Signs of Affection: Gifts Honoring the Museum's 75th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 1992-January 3, 1993).
- {{cite web|title=Wilson Cary Nicholas|url=false|author=Gilbert Stuart|year=c. 1805|access-date=04 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.305