John Jay Chapman was an essayist, literary critic, and social commentator, as well as a friend of William James and other leading intellectuals. Edith Wharton, in reply to a request from the Comte Arthur de Vogue for introductions to literary and scientific people in the United States, referred him to Chapman. She described him as "my friend . . . a very fine man of letters and a remarkable writer, who will certainly be happy to act as your guide."
John Jay Chapman, 1862-1933/
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William Collins (lifedates unknown)
Oil on canvas, circa 1895
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C.
Gift of Chanler A. Chapman
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