Gulian Verplanck

John Singleton Copley

1771 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Gulian Verplanck (1751–1799) graduated from Kings’s College (now Columbia University) in 1768 and then spent several years in the Netherlands working at the banking firm of his maternal uncle, Daniel Crommelin. In 1788, following his return to New York, Gulian was elected to the state assembly, where he served twice as speaker. He also became president of the Bank of New York and, in 1792, helped found the Tontine Association, a precursor of the New York Stock Exchange. Fruitful in his private life as well, Gulian Verplanck had seven children.

Artist

John Singleton Copley

Date

1771

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Bayard Verplanck, 1949