The Rapalje Children

In the 1700s class divisions became much more prominent in the English colonies. People with substantial property or successful businesses collected more and more of the colony’s wealth. This created a great divide in the social fabric of the colonies.

This portrait depicts the Rapalje children, descendants of some of the first settlers of New Amsterdam. They moved in the upper circles of British New York society.

While little is known about the artist John Durand, records indicate that he was a highly sought-after artist who painted portraits for many of New York’s most prominent families. The very existence of this portrait indicates that the Rapalje children lived lives of privilege and luxury compared with children of other social classes.

The children in this portrait, from left to right, are eleven-year-old Garret, thirteen-year-old George, six-year-old Anne, and sixteen-year-old Jacques. Their father Garret Rapalje was one of the many merchants of Dutch descent who found success trading for the British Empire. He also served as an assistant alderman in the 1760s. Their mother, born Helena De Nyse, was a descendant of another family with roots in the Dutch era. Garret commissioned this portrait. It is considered one of artist John Durand’s finest works and is his only known group portrait.

The portrait is full of small clues about the lives of the children. Their relaxed poses, which are unusual in colonial portraits, indicate their confidence in their status and upbringing. Their arrangement, which just barely fits within the canvas, suggests that they share a close family bond. Their brightly colored textured clothing was likely made from fabric imported by their father. The young men are dressed as colonial gentlemen in miniature, indicating their future place in society. Young Anne holds a rose, a sly reference to her fertility and fitness for marriage.

• alderman: An elected member of a city council.
• merchant: A person whose business is buying and selling goods.

• Pair this resource with Catalina Trico to trace the influence of the earliest settlers and rise of colonial families.
• Pair this resource with Symbols of Accomplishment for a discussion about the lives and expectations of wealthy colonial girls.
• Contrast this resource with Children at Work for a discussion of how race and class shaped the lives of girls in the English colonies.
• Pair this resource with The Last Will and Testament of Joseph Grover and Coverture for a deeper understanding of the legal and social customs of the English colonies.

DOMESTICITY AND FAMILY; AMERICAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP

• For more resources relating to childhood in the English colonies, see New World—New Netherland—New York.