John Verelst (ca. 1672–1734)

• Was an Anglo-Dutch portrait painter.
• He was the third son of Herman Verelst (a portrait painter) and Cecilia Fend.
• John Verelst was born c. 1670 after his parents had left Amsterdam following the decline in the Low Country art market.
• He was one of the four sons of Herman Verelst and Cecilia Fend, originally from Venice.
• He is mentioned as a beneficiary in his brother Lodvick’s will between Peter (who did not become an artist) and Michael.
• Herman Verelst’s career took him from Venice to Ljubljana, to Vienna, reaching London where Herman established himself as a portrait painter.

• John married Anne Tureng at St James's, Duke's Place on 4 November 1692.

• They had eight children.

• John Verelst died on 7 March 1734 in London and was buried three days later at St Christopher le Stocks.

• John was, from an early point in his career, both a painter and a dealer (in both prints and paintings), using newspapers to advertise and (in an entrepreneurial spirit) looking for new opportunities to exploit.

• The earliest documented portrait of 1700 is that of Martha Loft (c. 1685-1723).

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