American Art Collaborative

Francis Scott Key is most famous for writing a poem which, set to music, became the national anthem of the United States. Key was a lawyer by profession. He was born in Maryland and died in Baltimore. Joseph Wood was born in New York near Clarkston. In 1802 he established himself as a miniature and portrait painter, and for some time was a partner of John Wesley Jarvis. After the two artists separated, Wood moved his studio to Washington. Towards the end of his career he supported himself by executing drawings for patent applications. Wood's name also appears in the Baltimore directory, and from 1816 practiced in that city. He is known to have painted a picture of Key in 1816 for John Randolph of Roanoke, and at least five versions were identified in public and private collections in the 20th century.