William Dering

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]