The portraits of the Levy-Franks family, attributed to Gerardus Duyckinck and dating from the 1720s to 1735, are the most extensive surviving group of Colonial American portraiture. The Jewish Museum will be exhibiting six of them consecutively in pairs from April 2007 through June 2009.
The first two will be on view through December 31, 2007, the second pair from January through September, 2008, and the third pair from October 2008 through June 2009. These six paintings are from the collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, a new museum scheduled to open in 2009.
Spanning three generations, the works depict the German-born patriarch Moses Raphael Levy, his wife Grace Mears Levy, his daughter Abigaill Franks and her husband Jacob Franks, and five of their children. These paintings also hold a noteworthy place in American art as one of the oldest surviving family portrait series.
In the Colonial period, portraits held a special significance in the homes of prosperous families, serving the traditional purpose of proclaiming the subject’s social status. For Jews, they also affirmed their American identity. Portraits also acted as daily reminders of family members living in distant lands. For Abigaill Franks this was crucial because her beloved son Naphtali had joined the family business in London. Remarkably, thirty-five letters from Abigaill to Naphtali survive (in the collection of the American Jewish Historical Society), offering a rare view of eighteenth-century New York as well as illuminating the personal lives of the Franks. Abigaill embraced the diversity found in the vibrant city and enjoyed close friendships with Jews and non-Jews. In a letter dated 1733, Abigaill wrote: “I think [the faire Charecter Our Familys has in the place by Jews & Christians] its the greatest happyness a Person can Injoy Next to the haveing a good Conscience.” The two paintings in the series that will initially be on view at The Jewish Museum are Portrait of Richa Franks and Portrait of Franks Children with Lamb (both c. 1735).
An important focus for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is ensuring that significant works of art reflecting the richness and diversity of the American experience are accessible to the public. “It is a great privilege and honor to assume the preservation, presentation and interpretation of this unique and important suite of paintings rich in Colonial America’s history,” said Robert Workman, Crystal Bridges Executive Director. “We are grateful to The Jewish Museum for providing public access to these works until they can be shared with new audiences upon our opening in 2009.”
“We are delighted to share these fascinating examples of Colonial American portraiture with the public,” said Susan L. Braunstein, Chair of Curatorial Affairs at The Jewish Museum. “Visitors to The Jewish Museum now have a rare opportunity to view the oldest paintings of American Jews still in existence. This is also a great story of a family living in New York around the time of the Revolutionary War,” she added.
Traditionally identified as a portrait of her sister, Phila, Portrait of Richa Franks is now believed to depict Richa, aged about seventeen. Attesting to their affluent status, the Franks children received religious instruction and a secular education that included the learning of foreign languages, drawing, and private lessons in music. Richa also went horseback riding at the family’s property on Long Island. In a letter to Naphtali dated 1735, her mother Abigaill continued: “Indeed Richa is Like’d by all that know her. And I hope She will Allways have that happyness.” After her father’s death in 1769, Richa went to England. She became the administrator of his estate.
Although not conclusive, current scholarship leans towards accepting Portrait of Franks Children with Lamb as portraying Phila (1722-1811) and either her brother David (1720-1794) or Moses (1718/19-1789). Children of the prosperous merchant Jacob Franks and his wife, Abigaill Levy, they were raised in a highly acculturated and socially sophisticated milieu. To their parent’s distress, Phila and David married out of their faith. In 1742, Phila secretly wed Oliver DeLancey, a member of a prestigious New York family (after whom Delancey Street was named). Distraught, Abigaill wrote to her son Napthali: “I am now retired from Town…from the Severe Affliction I am Under on the Conduct of that Unhappy Girle Good God Wath a Shock…” She never spoke to her daughter again. Years later, Phila raised money for the financially troubled King’s College, now Columbia University. Since her husband was a Loyalist during the Revolution, his property was confiscated and in 1779 the couple settled permanently in England.
Based in Philadelphia, David Franks enjoyed commercial and social success, engaging in land speculation, shipping, and fur trading and providing supplies for the British Army. During the Revolution he became the king’s agent for Pennsylvania. Afterward, he was arrested for aiding the enemy and was exiled to England. Moses Franks delighted in the arts – he played the violin and flute, sang, and painted. His mother wrote: “…he is a Lad of Very good Sence and Very Ingageing & allways merry…” He eventually joined the family business in England. -- www.thejewishmuseum.org
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