In the 17th century Americans were most concerned with survival; they had little time for luxuries like commissioned portraits. Artists had no special schools or communities in America, so their styles were very individualistic. Mainly they painted signs, carriages and gravestones. Artists did not sign their creations, as they considered their work utilitarian. The earliest American portraits were usually of ministers. The New England Puritans believed that portraits were fine as long as they only provided a record of a person's likeness and did not invite idolatry.
One of the earliest known American portraits was a print made in America in 1670. It was John Foster's likeness of Richard Mather, a Puritan minister. Foster probably carved this woodcut to honor the popular Boston preacher, who died the year before. American printers commonly used wood because it was cheap and plentiful in the colonies. Foster also published the first map in North America; he was an astronomer, teacher, mathematician and medical specialist. He died in 1681 at age 32.
An unknown painter who created portraits of the Freake family was one of the most skilled American artists of the 1600s. He was active from 1670 to 1680; he worked in oils on canvas. Such expensive materials were then a luxury for artists. He worked in Boston, but his work shows an Elizabethan influence. The Freake family portraits give clues to the family's station through the meticulous details painted in their clothing. He did not use much modeling on the figures, and the backgrounds are simple and dark.
The earliest known self-portrait is Thomas Smith's 1680 oil painting. This is also the first American oil painting that can be attributed to a specific artist. The image shows Smith with his hand on a skull. Behind him is a window showing a maritime scene. Historians think that Smith may have been a Naval officer and was very wealthy. He was active from 1675 to 1690; he painted several portraits of military officers. Smith died in 1691.