Artist: Richard Livesay (1753-1823) 

The Samuel Hart portrait signed R. Livesay and dated 1795 (lower left); inscribed Samuel Hart 1795. (on the reverse).  Oil on vellum

Samuel Hart and his brother Moses were raised in the small but vibrant
Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island. The Revolutionary War brought
many trials to the Hart family, all loyal to the British crown, who
were forced to flee Newport after the evacuation of the British Army in
1777. The family first fled to Long Island then New York proper, where
they found themselves destitute but supported by a small stipend from
the British commander-in-chief of the city. When the Americans succeeded
in capturing the city in 1783, both Hart brothers fled to London, where
Moses would remain for the rest of his life.

Samuel, his wife
and children found themselves in Halifax, Nova Scotia by 1785, where
Samuel opened a general import-export business, mainly dry goods and
commodities from London. His skills as a trader led to success and by
1793 his aspirations led him to run for public office. He became a
member for Liverpool Township, a position he held until 1799,  where he
expected to become the first Jewish member of the House of Assembly of
Nova Scotia. However, shortly after his election, Samuel was informed
that he would have to subscribe to the Test Act, which would require his
baptism into the Anglican faith in order for him to make the
declaration against transubstantiation. He was baptized in 1793.

Records
indicate that in the mid-1790s, Samuel and his son traveled to England
so that the younger Hart could be left with his uncle Moses, who
remained an observant Jew until his death in 1825. While on this trip,
Samuel had his portrait painted to cultivate further his image as a
respectable man of property.

The end of Samuel’s life underscored
the difficulties facing Jews who aspired to social acceptance in early
British North America. By the early 1800s, debt began to overwhelm his
business and his heirs inherited virtually nothing.

Height: 12 in.
Width: 10 in.
(each)