he was born in perth amboy, new jersey, the son of an army officer wounded at the battle of quebec in 1759. in 1783, he painted a portrait of george washington, while staying at rockingham in rocky hill. the painting is now owned by the united states senate. he later studied art under benjamin west in london. another teacher was abraham delanoy, with whom he had a handful of lessons in new york. after returning to america in 1787, he worked exclusively in the theater for 18 years, resuming painting out of economic necessity in 1805. by 1817, he was a full-time painter.