William Dering (active between 1735 and 1751) was an American dancing master and painter active primarily in Virginia. Very little is known about his life or career; what few details have been established are known primarily from newspaper advertisements, court records, journal entries, and ledgers and from his few surviving paintings. [1]
Dering is first recorded as a dancing master in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1735 to 1736. A good conversationalist, he is said to have been respected as well for his talents on the French horn; [2] his school also offered lessons in "Reading, Writing, Dancing, Plain Work, Marking, Embroidery, and several other Works: where Likewise young Ladies and Gentlemen may be instructed in the French." [3] [4] He was likely still in Philadelphia in May of the next year, when local papers advertised the loss of his horse. [4] Dering had moved to Gloucester County, Virginia by 1737. [1] With his wife Sarah, he was present on October 8, 1738, at the baptism of their son, also named William, at Abingdon Church. [4]
Dering is next found in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he moved in 1742 [1] and continued as a dancing master, opening a school at the College of William and Mary "where all Gentlemens Sons may be taught Dancing, according to the newest French Manner, on Fridays and Saturdays once in Three Weeks"; [3] [2] [5] he seems to have taken up portrait painting sometime in the mid-1740s. [6] What caused the decision is unknown, although it has been suggested that the return of painter Charles Bridges to England may have served as a prompt; [6] indeed, it has been surmised by some that Dering purchased painting supplies from Bridges prior to the latter's departure. [7] Dering purchased a house from Henry Cary II, the Brush-Everard House, [8] on the Palace Green, near the Governor's Palace; [1] it survives today, preserved by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. [8]
Dering is known to have been acquainted with members of some of the more important families in Virginia society; William Byrd II, in his diaries, records many visits by the dancing master to Westover Plantation in 1740 and 1741, and in the latter year records a visit to Henry Cary II at Ampthill, [3] at which Dering was present. [2] The nature of the men's professional relationship is unknown, due to the cryptic nature of the diary; Byrd does mention a visit during which he showed Dering some prints, suggesting that Dering may have come to Westover in furtherance of his artistic pursuits. [7] During another visit he is recorded as having played the French horn. [4]
Dering continued in his primary career, arranging balls and assemblies in Williamsburg at least through the spring of 1747. [6] However, he was plagued with debts and other legal issues throughout his time in the town, [2] and as early as 1739 is recorded as a party in numerous lawsuits from residents of Williamsburg and Gloucester and York counties. [1] Furthermore, inventories of his heavily- mortgaged house reveal a surprisingly lavish lifestyle for a person of his profession. [4] Dering had left Williamsburg by December, 1749, heading to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was last recorded with certainty in 1751. [6] He had left his wife behind to settle his debts and auction off the couple's belongings; it is possible that she took in boarders as well. [2]
Documentary references to a William Dering being active in Charleston in 1764 have been found; some scholars, believing the two to be one and the same, have suggested a link between the dancing master and the earlier pastelist Henrietta Johnston (whose first marriage was to a man named Dering), who lived in that city until her death. Others believe the link to be dubious at best. [6]
Fewer than a dozen portraits attributed to Dering survive, suggesting that painting may have merely been a sideline and not a main source of income for him. [1] Only one is signed, that of Mrs. Drury Stith; [9] the others have been linked to him due to their stylistic similarity to this one. [6] His best-known work is a full-length portrait of George Booth of Gloucester County, dating to around 1745; it is currently in the collection of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, along with a portrait of his mother, Mrs. Mordecai Booth; [6] a portrait of Anne Byrd Carter; [10] and the portrait of Mrs. Stith. [9] It is recorded that Dering was possessed, in 1745, of "1 large hair Trunk with about 200 prints", [6] and his portraits, as with many others painted in the Colonies, suggest a knowledge of pose gleaned from English prints. [1] Most of his paintings have been described as "linear and flat", and they reveal a limited knowledge of technique. [4]
William Dering (active between 1735 and 1751) was an American dancing master and painter active primarily in Virginia. Very little is known about his life or career; what few details have been established are known primarily from newspaper advertisements, court records, journal entries, and ledgers and from his few surviving paintings. [1]
Dering is first recorded as a dancing master in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1735 to 1736. A good conversationalist, he is said to have been respected as well for his talents on the French horn; [2] his school also offered lessons in "Reading, Writing, Dancing, Plain Work, Marking, Embroidery, and several other Works: where Likewise young Ladies and Gentlemen may be instructed in the French." [3] [4] He was likely still in Philadelphia in May of the next year, when local papers advertised the loss of his horse. [4] Dering had moved to Gloucester County, Virginia by 1737. [1] With his wife Sarah, he was present on October 8, 1738, at the baptism of their son, also named William, at Abingdon Church. [4]
Dering is next found in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he moved in 1742 [1] and continued as a dancing master, opening a school at the College of William and Mary "where all Gentlemens Sons may be taught Dancing, according to the newest French Manner, on Fridays and Saturdays once in Three Weeks"; [3] [2] [5] he seems to have taken up portrait painting sometime in the mid-1740s. [6] What caused the decision is unknown, although it has been suggested that the return of painter Charles Bridges to England may have served as a prompt; [6] indeed, it has been surmised by some that Dering purchased painting supplies from Bridges prior to the latter's departure. [7] Dering purchased a house from Henry Cary II, the Brush-Everard House, [8] on the Palace Green, near the Governor's Palace; [1] it survives today, preserved by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. [8]
Dering is known to have been acquainted with members of some of the more important families in Virginia society; William Byrd II, in his diaries, records many visits by the dancing master to Westover Plantation in 1740 and 1741, and in the latter year records a visit to Henry Cary II at Ampthill, [3] at which Dering was present. [2] The nature of the men's professional relationship is unknown, due to the cryptic nature of the diary; Byrd does mention a visit during which he showed Dering some prints, suggesting that Dering may have come to Westover in furtherance of his artistic pursuits. [7] During another visit he is recorded as having played the French horn. [4]
Dering continued in his primary career, arranging balls and assemblies in Williamsburg at least through the spring of 1747. [6] However, he was plagued with debts and other legal issues throughout his time in the town, [2] and as early as 1739 is recorded as a party in numerous lawsuits from residents of Williamsburg and Gloucester and York counties. [1] Furthermore, inventories of his heavily- mortgaged house reveal a surprisingly lavish lifestyle for a person of his profession. [4] Dering had left Williamsburg by December, 1749, heading to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was last recorded with certainty in 1751. [6] He had left his wife behind to settle his debts and auction off the couple's belongings; it is possible that she took in boarders as well. [2]
Documentary references to a William Dering being active in Charleston in 1764 have been found; some scholars, believing the two to be one and the same, have suggested a link between the dancing master and the earlier pastelist Henrietta Johnston (whose first marriage was to a man named Dering), who lived in that city until her death. Others believe the link to be dubious at best. [6]
Fewer than a dozen portraits attributed to Dering survive, suggesting that painting may have merely been a sideline and not a main source of income for him. [1] Only one is signed, that of Mrs. Drury Stith; [9] the others have been linked to him due to their stylistic similarity to this one. [6] His best-known work is a full-length portrait of George Booth of Gloucester County, dating to around 1745; it is currently in the collection of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, along with a portrait of his mother, Mrs. Mordecai Booth; [6] a portrait of Anne Byrd Carter; [10] and the portrait of Mrs. Stith. [9] It is recorded that Dering was possessed, in 1745, of "1 large hair Trunk with about 200 prints", [6] and his portraits, as with many others painted in the Colonies, suggest a knowledge of pose gleaned from English prints. [1] Most of his paintings have been described as "linear and flat", and they reveal a limited knowledge of technique. [4]