Jacob Eichholtz (1776–1842): A Pennsylvania Pioneer of Romantic Portraiture

Jacob Eichholtz (1776–1842) inhabited several worlds, or so his letter to fellow artist and historian of early American art, William Dunlap would suggest. Trained as an artisan, he successfully entered the world of fine art (Fig. 1). Born and raised in the small town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he was most at home in cosmopolitan Philadelphia. His is an American story and his success at navigating a path through his rapidly changing worlds brings America’s past into sharper relief. Eichholtz began his career as a sign painter and a coppersmith. After several years making such things as copper teakettles and entryway signs, he ventured into portraiture in 1801. When noted portraitist Thomas Sully came to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to paint its leading citizens, Eichholtz gave the artist his “painting room” to use as a studio. Sully took Eichholtz under his wing, giving him painting supplies and offering advice. Eichholtz later wrote that “Chance about this time threw a painter into the town of my residence. This in a moment decided my fate as to the arts.” He painted mainly in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. (Rindge, “Jacob Eichholtz: 1776-1842,” in Kelly et al., *American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century*, vol. I, 1996) He married Catharine Hatz michael (1770–1817), a young widow with two children; they had four children of their own, caroline, catharine maria, rubens mayer, and margaret amelia. In 1818, he married catharine trissler of lancaster, and they had nine children, edward, anna maria, elizabeth susanna, benjamin west, angelica kauffman, rebecca, henry, robert lindsay, and lavallyn barry. Eichholtz’s parents, Leonard and Catherine, were second-generation Pennsylvania Germans who had achieved a high degree of commercial and social success as tavern keepers in their native town of Lancaster. At age 11, Eichholtz attended the english school at franklin college in lancaster where he learned the three rs — reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic. Though trained as a coppersmith, Eichholtz was determined from an early age to be an artist. In a letter to William Dunlap he wrote: “At the proper time I was put apprentice to a coppersmith, (a wretched contrast with a picture maker), when still my predilection for drawing showed itself in the rude sketches of my fellow apprentices pictured on the walls of the shop with a charcoal. After the expiration of my apprenticeship, I commenced the coppersmith business on my own account, with pretty good luck; still the more agreeable love of painting continually haunted me” (Fig. 2). By the age of 29, Jacob Eichholtz had secured a respectable trade, created a viable business, and married Catharine Hatz michael. Although his business was devoted to metalsmithing—he made thousands of copper and tin items between 1800 and 1813—he found a way to combine his craft with painting: in painted tinware. Though no signed pieces of painted tinware survive, according to a pseudonymous letter by “Russel” in the Philadelphia literary magazine The Port Folio, “The pots and kettles which he then offered for sale, were generally ornamented with some fanciful painting of his own.” He exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1808, artist James Peale visited Lancaster from Philadelphia and captured on canvas a reflective and confident Jacob Eichholtz at age 32 (Fig. 3). This is a portrait of youthful success and leisure, with no specific references to his business in copper and tin. Perhaps this is because Eichholtz saw himself as an entrepreneur, having already expanded beyond his craft. According to his daybook, at this point, he was providing services as a gilder, glazier, wholesaler in raw materials, an occasional retailer of glass and china, and, ever increasingly, a painter—of banners, fire buckets, Masonic aprons, signs, and musical instruments (see top of page 194). He traveled to boston to briefly study under esteemed painter Gilbert Stuart, who observed his portrait of Nicholas Biddle and offered guidance. Eichholtz relocated back to lancaster in 1830 where he died in 1842. His gravestone, which was made of marble, had deteriorated due to age and acid rain, rendering the inscription illegible. Local historians have called for the restoration of his headstone, as well as the installation of a brass plaque at the grave site to mark his achievements. Jacob Eichholtz’s legacy rests primarily on his prolific output of portraits—over 800 works completed during his lifetime. His artistic style aligns closely with the Romantic Victorian tradition, characterized by meticulous detail and an emphasis on capturing psychological nuance. Influenced by artists like James Peale and Thomas Sully, Eichholtz honed his skills through observation and collaboration, achieving remarkable success despite lacking formal training. He became a prominent figure in Lancaster’s cultural landscape, shaping its artistic identity and leaving behind a substantial body of work that continues to inspire admiration. His paintings are housed in major museums across the United States, ensuring that his contribution to American art history will endure for generations to come.