During the summer of 2017, the Cony Alumni Association undertook the task of making a printed re-creation of the 1815 Gilbert Stuart portrait of Judge Daniel Cony, the founder in 1816 of the Cony Female Academy, which later became Cony High School in 1880. This framed canvas print was installed in Cony High School’s library in August 2017, according to a news release from the association.

Not only was Daniel Cony the founder of the school, but he was also one of Augusta’s and of Maine’s most prominent citizens dating back to the time he moved to Hallowell after serving in the American Revolutionary War. He had been a medical doctor who later became a Probate Judge. He was among the first overseers of Bowdoin College. He was elected as a representative and then as a senator to the Massachusetts General Council. He was a member of the Electoral College from Massachusetts ,who voted for George Washington to serve his second term as president. He became a delegate at Maine’s constitutional convention. His descendants include two Maine Supreme Court Justices, two Maine governors, a United States Supreme Court Chief Justice and a Pulitzer Prize winner, according to the release.

The portrait of Daniel Cony, which was one of two made at the same time with that of his wife, Susanna Curtis Cony, was painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1815. Stuart was one of America’s foremost portraitists whose works include portraits of the first six United States presidents among some 1,000 or more others. The original Daniel Cony portrait is now owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, from whom a digital file was acquired along with a license to make the reproduction through their agent Bridgeman Images in New York, New York.

The following parties each played a role in providing their services to make the reproduction of the Daniel Cony portrait possible: Cony Alumni Association, primary contributor; Colorgraphics, printing and mounting of canvas image; Michael’s, custom framing; American Awards, Justin Wing, Cony alumnus, donation of nameplate; and Paul Lessard, Cony alumnus, project coordinator and secondary contributor.

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