William Dunlap: A Pioneer of American Theater and Art Early Life and Education Born: February 19, 1766, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Dunlap was the son of an army officer wounded at the Battle of Quebec in 1759. He demonstrated artistic talent early on, producing a portrait of George Washington in 1783 while staying at Rockingham in Rocky Hill. He later pursued formal art training under Benjamin West in London and briefly with Abraham Delanoy in New York. A Career in the Theater Upon returning to America in 1787, Dunlap dedicated himself almost entirely to the theater for eighte…