William Paterson Van Rensselaer (March 6, 1805 – November 13, 1872) was an American attorney, landowner, and businessman from New York.

[6] Following his graduation, Van Rensselaer was appointed as aide-de-camp on the military staff of Governor DeWitt Clinton with the rank of colonel.

After returning to the United States he studied law with Peter A. Jay, attained admission to the bar, and practiced in New York City.

[7] He was known as "a scholarly man, with intellectual tastes, eminent as a philanthropist" and "was regarded widely as an ideal Christian gentleman.

After several court battles and election of Anti-Rent politicians, the New York Constitution of 1846 added provisions for tenants' rights which abolished feudal tenures and outlawed leases longer than twelve years,[10] which led to the dissolution and sale of the patroon's lands.

The Clarke collection, including the portrait, was later acquired by The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, which gifted the work to The National Gallery of Art in 1942.

[17] Around 1840, he built Beverwyck Manor on the "brow of the wooded hill on the east side of the Hudson opposite the northern end of Albany."

There, William "laid out the extensive grounds with the idea of making the place one of the finest estates in the entire state.