John Verelst

John Verelst, aka, Johannes or Jan was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He was the youngest of three sons of the painter Pieter Hermansz Verelst; all became known as painters. After becoming established, Johannes Verelst migrated to London in 1691, where he specialized in oil portraits. He is best known for his portraits, especially of the men known as the Four Mohawk Kings, who visited Queen Anne in 1710. Queen Anne was so impressed by these tall, muscular foreign visitors that she had Verelst paint oil colors of them in 1710. These were among the first paintings of aboriginal people. The chiefs had come voluntarily and were well treated as diplomats and entertained. They were Tee Yee Neen Ho Ga Row (Hendriks), Emperor of the Six Nations; Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row (John), King of Generethgarich; Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow (Brant) of the Maquas; he was the grandfather of Joseph Brant, a chief during the Revolutionary War and namesake for Brantford, Ontario; and Etow Oh Koam (Nicholas), King of the River Nation. They had been persuaded to come to England by Peter Schuyler, acting Governor of New York in 1709 and some-time mayor of Albany. They stayed one month and returned without having contracted any of the endemic European diseases. The four portraits were later transformed into mezzotint prints by artists, including Anglo-French printmaker John Simon (1675–1751)