John Quidor was a literary genre painter during the early to mid-nineteenth century. His collection is largely based on Washington Irving’s short stories; however, he has painted themes from stories by James Fenimore Cooper and Miguel de Cervantes. John Quidor was born January 26th, 1801, in Tappan, New York, and moved to New York City at age nine. He began an apprenticeship with the well-known painter, John Wesley Jarvis; this was his only formal training. He never completed his training with Jarvis because felt he was being neglected in favor of another student. He eventually sued for damages, and won the case (6). John Quidor began painting in the 1820’s. He specialized in painting banners, signs, parade pennants, and fire engines.