Mahlon Dickerson

Artist J. Parker

Period1800 - 1820

MediumOil on wood panel

Dimensions17 × 12.3 in. (43.2 × 31.2 cm)

SignedInscribed on reverse, "Judge M. Dickerson / J. Parker Pinxt."

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1941

Object number1636

DescriptionMiddle aged man with brown wavy hair and long side burns facing right in a half-length portrait, wearing a dark gray jacket, white shirt, and white stock. He is depicted against a background of green, tan and brown.
Curatorial RemarksThe painting is inscribed on the reverse, “Judge M. Dickerson / J. Parker Pinxt.” Nothing is known of the artist, even though the quality of this work indicates a strong talent for portraiture. Given his honorific title of Judge, the likeness of Dickerson was probably taken in Philadelphia.NotesMahlon Dickerson (1771 - 1853) of Morris County enjoyed a very distinguished legal and political career. A son of Jonathan Dickerson and Mary Coe, he graduated from Princeton in 1789 and was licensed as an attorney in 1793. For about fifteen years, Dickerson resided in Philadelphia, where he filled a number of important jurist and political positions. In 1810 he returned to Morris County. He was then elected to the General Assembly of New Jersey in 1812, Governor of the State in 1815, and in 1817 became a United States Senator, where he served for sixteen years. After leaving the Senate, Dickerson was appointed Secretary of the Navy in 1834, remaining in that position for four years. The mining and manufacture of iron in Morris County was of special interest to Dickerson. He was also esteemed as a person of sound judgment. Having never married, he died at his residence in Suckasunny, Morris County, at the age of eighty-two, leaving behind a large fortune.

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