Charles Willson Peale-- Part 3: Not That Painting, That Museum

And, by the way, that painting of Washington which Dolley Madison supposedly saved from the White House was not by Charles Willson Peale.  It was by Gilbert Stuart.  Just in case you're wondering.

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Peale was quite the Renaissance Man as he knew a lot about a lot of things.  He not only had expertise in painting, but also many other fields like carpentry, dentistry,  optometry, shoemaking and taxidermy.  Around 1804, he obtained  the American patent  rights to the polygraph (creates a copy of writing) from its inventor John Isaac Hawkins.

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The Peale Museum

He also had a great interest in natural history and organized the first U.S. scientific expedition in 1801.  That led to his founding of  what became the Philadelphia Museum, later known as  Peale's American Museum.  After his death, his museum failed and was sold to showmen P.T. Barnum and Moses Kimball.

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Peale had ten children, most of them named after his favorite artists.  Three of them became noted artists:  Rembrandt Peale,  Raphaelle Peale and Titian Ramsay Peale.

--CootPeale

Charles Willson Peale-- Part 2: A Prolific Painter

His estate is now part of the campus of LaSalle University in Philadelphia.  It can still be visited.

Peale also raised troops for the American Revolution and eventually became a captain in the Pennsylvania militia in 1776 and participated in several battles.  While in the field, he continued to paint. doing  miniatures of American officers.  After the war, he made many into larger paintings.

From 1779 to 1780 he was in the Pennsylvania state assembly, after which he returned to painting full time.

Peale was quite prolific as an artist and did portraits of scores  of historic  figures such as Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton to name a few.

He is probably best known for his portraits of George Washington.  The first time Washington sat for his portrait with Peale was 1772 and they had six other sittings.  Using these  seven as models, Peale produced altogether close to sixty portraits of Washington.  In January 2005, a full-length portrait of Washington at Princeton from 1779 sold for $21.3 million, setting a  record for the highest price ever paid for an American portrait.

--Cooter

Charles Willson Peale-- Part 1: The Painter of the Revolution

Yes, his middle name is actually spelled Willson with two "Ls".

From Wikipedia.

Since I was writing about the portrait this man painted of George Washington at the Battle of Princeton, I figured I's find out some more about him.  I don't remember ever knowing anything about him.  Now, I do.

(April 15, 1741- February 22, 1827)

American painter, soldier,  scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist.  A real Renaissance Man.  He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolution and establishing one of the first museums in the United States.

After forays into saddle making, clocks and metal working, he found his niche in painting.  After joining the Sons of Liberty, he became enamored with the new country that was being established on Philadelphia and moved there where he painted many of the famous people leading the effort, including, of course, George Washington.

--Cooter

Ten Facts About Battle of Princeton-- Part 9

In the original painting, which is now a part of the Pennsylvania  Academy of Fine Arts collection, Washington leans on the barrel of a captured cannon while   Hessian and British flags  lie at his feet.

Washington is in his blue and buff uniform with commander's sash looks confidently at the viewer while in the background you can see Nassau  Hall, the final scene of the battle.

From Wikipedia.

Charles Willson Peale made eight copies of the painting.  It was completed in early 1779 when Washington sat for Peale in Philadelphia.

In January 2005, the painting sold for $21.3 million, setting a record for highest price paid for an American  portrait.

--Brock-Perry

Ten Facts About Battle of Princeton-- Part 8: The George Washington at Princeton Painting

10.  THE GEORGE WASHINGTON AT PRINCETON  PAINTING WAS WILDLY POPULAR AFTER ITS DEBUT

The news of George Washington's victory at Princeton electrified the country and doing his painting became the desire of leading artists of the day.

George Willson Peale, Washington's most frequent portraitist and a Continental Army veteran who was at Princeton, finished his George Washington at Princeton painting in early 1779.  The painting had been commissioned by the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania for its council chambers at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

After its debut, there was a great clamor for replicas.  It is estimated that Peale created 18 or more different replicas of the painting for clients such as the Spanish Court, the island of Cuba and King Louis XVI.  Today, replicas can be found at  Princeton University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Colonial Williamsburg,  the Museum of Virginia Fine Arts, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the U.S. Senate.

Each of these  copies employs different-sized  canvases, updated uniforms, varied backgrounds and other modifications.

--CootPeale