sistant pastor at the Madison Avenue Baptist Church.9 The senior Balis may have accompanied them to New York City. Although Calvin Balis, Jr. was painting upstate in the 1840s, a Calvin Balis appears as a New York city official in annual repeated lists during those years, twice as a Whig candidate for alderman.'° The second Balis painting (Fig. 2) that I came across bore some resemblance to the Eastmans, but was not nearly so imposing, lacking the fully developed background. I am sure this is the same painting (from Canastoga, New York) that Harris Prior referred to over thirty years ago. Also of two children, it was still badly in need of restoration, and, as it had never been cleaned or relined, I was at last able to see a genuine signature which appeared to read:"C. Balis,Pxt, 18507 The childrens' names were inscribed as well: "Elliot—aged 9 and Julia(?)— aged sr The costumes and poses are strikingly similar to the Eastmans. There is even a dog, though of a different breed. The painting had been purchased in the Utica area and had been in the same family for fifty years; however, they were not descendants of the sitters and had no genealogical knowledge of them. Eventually other paintings followed. One signed portrait of Mr. D.C. Bessie, dated 1840, has a striking similarity to the work of Ammi Phillips. It is highly likely that Balis was influenced by Phillips, as Phillips was, in turn, by the Albany artist Ezra Ames. During the 1820s Ammi Phillips's portraits became much more realistic than those of the earlier period. This is perhaps due to the influence of the Albany artist Ezra Ames. The two artists covered much ofthe same territory on their itinerant trips. It seems evident that the trained portrait painter greatly influenced his country counterpart who would have had to have seen Ames' more finished, sophisticated portraits in villages along the Hudson. .. This was also Balis' territory, and he would have had many opportunities to see the work of both men. Evidence indicates that Balis photographed his 58
Fig. 5 Adelbert Monroe Howes, age 14 months Attributed to C. Balis by family legend Oil on canvas 211 / 2x 28" Private Collection
Fig.6 American Madonna and Child Attributed to C. Balis c. 1840 Oil on canvas 27 x 22" Collection: New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York