Dr. William Beekman

Alexander Robertson, Dr. William Beekman, ca. 1795, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 ⁷⁄₈ x 2 ³⁄₈ in. (7.3 x 5.9 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1942.11.8

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Artwork Details

Title: Dr. William Beekman
Artist: Alexander Robertson
Date: ca. 1795
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sight 2 ⁷⁄₈ x 2 ³⁄₈ in. (7.3 x 5.9 cm) oval
Credit Line: Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums: watercolor
Mediums Description: watercolor on ivory
Classifications: Painting
Miniature
Subjects: Portrait male — Beekman, William — bust
Occupation — medicine — doctor
Object Number: 1942.11.8
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1942.11.8

Artwork Description

There were numerous William Beekmans living in New York and New England during the late eighteenth century, but few who obtained medical degrees. The subject of this portrait may have been the Beekman who served as a doctor and is on record as having witnessed at least one patient’s will on Long Island during the 1750s.