John Beale Bordley (1800-1882)
(Changed name from Matthias)
Maryland Portrait Painter

Son of Matthias Bordley (1757-1828) who was educated at Eton, a prominent planter of Wye Island, Queen Anne’s County, Md., and his wife Susan Gardner Heath, and Grandson of Judge John Beale Bordley (1726-1804). He read law in Phila. Until 1825 and may have learned to paint there. He was a portraitist in Balto. 1835 living in Courtland St. until 1851 when he moved to Harford County, Md. 32 of his portraits were exhibited at the Md. Historical Soc. in 1954. He painted the large (60"x90") portraits of the Signers: Samuel Chase, Wm. Paca, and Thomas Stone in the Md. State House. He never signed his portraits. He is described as a delightful companion and as a welcome guest at the houses of various prominent persons who sat for his portraits. A miniature portrait of him was given to Md. Historical Soc. by his grandson J.B. Bordley IV of Petersburg, Va.

(Note: C.W. Peale’s portrait of Matthias (1757-1828) and his brother Thomas Bordley (1755-1771) at Eton, illustrated in Pillars of Maryland, Mcgrath. Matthias painted landscapes and the one he did of "The Vineyard" his estate on Wye Island is owned by Dr. John Earle Bordley.