Biography

John Drinker was born on March 12, 1760 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were John Drinker (1716–1787) and Susanna Allen Drinker (1721–1787). His father made a number of successful real estate investments in Philadelphia, including the property known as Drinker's Court

Drinker's Court

The Drinker's Court, also known as Bandbox Court Houses, are located in the Society Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The houses were built in 1764 by John Drinker , father of noted American portrait artist John Drinker ....

. In 1787, John Drinker, Jr., opened a drawing
school at Philadelphia, where he taught "the art of Drawing and Colouring." That same year, both of his parents
died and with his inheritance, he was able to buy property in Berkeley County, Virginia

Berkeley County, West Virginia

Berkeley County is a county located in the Eastern Panhandle region of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population is 104,169, making it the second-most populous county in West Virginia, behind Kanawha...

 (now West Virginia). He bought and sold land in Virginia for the next 36 years.

He may have moved to Virginia between 1790 and 1793. On April 12, 1797, he married Elizabeth Peppers in Berkeley County, Virginia, and returned to Philadelphia. In 1801, they returned to Berkeley County, and on January 1, 1808, John bought additional property in Berkeley County, now known as the John Drinker House

John Drinker House

John Drinker House is a historic home located at Bunker Hill, Berkeley County, West Virginia. It was built about 1815 and is a two story, five bay, limestone dwelling in the Federal style. It features an arched stone main entrance. The property includes the ruins of a log home that pre-dates the...

. He died at his home in Berkeley County on February 16, 1826. He was buried at Morgan Chapel Cemetery

Morgan Chapel and Graveyard

Morgan Chapel and Graveyard, also known as Christ Episcopal Church-Bunker Hill, is a historic church in Bunker Hill, Berkeley County, West Virginia. It is the oldest Episcopal church congregation in West Virginia....

. Elizabeth Drinker lived until April 15, 1858.

Portraiture

Of the eight portraits that have been attributed to him, three are signed, but as of 1981, only one of these three has been located. All of the portraits are of prominent figures in the Berkeley and Jefferson Counties of
Virginia and West Virginia. These works include:

• Sarah deMontargis Rutherford (born c. 1795), Oil on canvas, Signed: A. D. 180[1 or 7]/by Drinker.
• Portrait of Dr. John Briscoe, Jr. (July 2, 1752-May 12, 1818). Oil on canvas, c. 1801, Attributed to John Drinker.
• Eleanor Magruder Briscoe (January 16, 1766). Oil on canvas, c. 1801, Attributed to John Drinker.
• Warner Lewis Wormeley (March 24, 1785–1814). Oil on canvas, c. 1803, Attributed to John Drinker.
• George Steptoe Washington
  George Steptoe Washington
  George Steptoe Washington was an American soldier and the husband of both Lucy Washington and Mary Coles Payne...
  
   (1771–1809)- Oil on canvas, c. 1798, Attributed to John Drinker
• Lucy Payne Washington (1776–1848). Oil on canvas, c. 1798, Attributed to John Drinker.
• Gabriel Jones (1724–1806) and Margaret Strother Jones (1726–1822). 1792, Signed: Joe Drinker.

Legacy

The John Drinker House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1980.