Lawrence Kilburn

Lawrence Kilburn (sometimes Kilbrunn or Kilbourn) (1720–1775) was a painter active in the colony of New York. He was for nearly twenty years the portraitist of choice in New York City, and is said to have been the first portraitist in the city.

Kilburn is said by at least one source to have been a Moravian of Danish birth. He arrived in New York from London in May, 1754, on the brig Maria captained by Thomas Miller, and immediately announced his presence in the New York Gazette and the New York Weekly. His first advertisement, which ran on May 13, 1754, read:

The nature of Kilbrun's training is unknown, although it has been speculated that, due to his somewhat limited understanding of human anatomy and his abilities as a painter of clothing, he had worked as a drapery painter prior to emigration.