John Philip de Haas
1772
Painter, American, 1741 - 1827
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 127 x 101.6 cm (50 x 40 in.)
framed: 149.9 x 124.5 x 9.5 cm (59 x 49 x 3 3/4 in.) -
Accession
1942.8.9
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Sold in or before 1858 by the artist's niece Margaretta Angelica Peale [1795-1882] to the artist's granddaughter Mary Jane Peale [1827-1902];[1] bequeathed to her sister-in-law Louise Harriet Hubley Peale [Mrs. Edward Burd Peale, b. 1839];[2] her daughter, Anna Frances Peale Carrier [Mrs. Frederick Carrier, 1860-1924]; sold on 5 December 1922 to Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York;[3] his estate; sold as part of the Clarke collection 29 January 1936, through (M. Knoedler & Co., New York), to The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Mary Jane Peale, in her "List of Pictures I Own, 1884," noted "43 Gen De Haas one of Washington's Generals - by Chas W Peale. This I bought from Margaretta Peale" (Peale-Sellers Collection, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia). It is not known how Margaretta Peale obtained the painting; family lore later held that it was found in a Philadelphia attic (notes, William P. Campbell, 1957, in NGA curatorial file). The painting could be one of the "Pictures" left by de Haas to his wife Eleanor Bingham de Haas in his will, dated 21 February 1786. The inventory of the contents of his house, dated 13 July 1786, listed in the front parlor a "Mahogany Desk, Tea Table, Dining Table, 6 Chairs, 5 pictures &c." (Abram Hess, "The Life and Services of John Philip de Haas," in Lebanon County Historical Society, Historical Papers and Addresses 7, no. 2 (February, 1916): 121, 124).
[3] The picture is listed in the codicil to her will dated 6 September 1901: "To Louisa wife of my brother Edward Gen de Haas if not sold painted by my grandfather" (will, proved 29 May 1903, Register of Wills, Pottsville, Pennsylvania; photocopy in NGA curatorial file).
[4] The name of the seller and the date of the purchase are recorded in a of Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries Collected by Thomas B. Clarke (Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928) annotated with information from files of M. Knoedler & Co., NY (copy in NGA curatorial records and in NGA library). The painting was apparently purchased through Art House, Inc. (see correspondence in NGA curatorial files). Mrs. Carrier stated in an interview with Wilfred Jordan, Curator at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, on 3 October 1917, that the "portrait had been in the possession of her immediate family since painted by Charles Wilson Peale ... She has known the portrait intimately for fifty-two years, it having formerly belonged to her mother" (Wilfred Jordan, "Notes of an Interview Under Date of October 3rd, 1917, with Mrs. Carrier, 406 S. 16th St., Philada.," typescript; copy, NGA curatorial file).
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1923
Exhibition of Portraits by Early American Portrait Painters, The Union League Club, New York, 1923, no. 18.
1925
A Loan Exhibition of the Earliest Known Portraits of Americans Painted in This Country by Painters of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Century Association, New York, 1925, no. 16.
1926
A Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Early American Portrait Painters, The Century Association, New York, 1926, no. 16.
1928
Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Collected by Thomas B. Clarke, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928-1931, unnumbered and unpaginated catalogue.
1943
American Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1943.
1948
American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1948.
1949
Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1949, no. 562.
1950
The Face of American History, Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina, 1950, no. 9.
1951
American Portraits from the National Gallery of Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 1951, no. 8 (organized by the Atlanta Art Association).
1952
[Opening exhibition], Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1952, no. cat.
[Opening exhibition of new art gallery], Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1952-1953, no cat.
Opening Exhibition of The George Thomas Hunter Gallery of Art, Chattanooga Art Association, Tennessee, 1952, unnumbered.
1963
The Peale Heritage, 1763-1963, The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1963, no. 4.
1980
La Pintura de Los Estados Unidos de Museos de la Ciudad de Washington, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 1980-1981, no. 3, color repro.
1982
Charles Willson Peale and His World, National Portrait Gallery, Washington; Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1982-1983, no. 15.
2005
Clash of Empires: The British, French and Indian War: 1754-1763, Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, 2005-2006, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
Bibliography
1923
Exhibition of Portraits by Early American Portrait Painters. Exh. cat. The Union League Club, New York, 1923: no. 18.
Sherman, Frederic Fairchild. "Charles Willson Peales's Portrait of Major John Philip De Haas." Art in America 11 (October 1923): 334-335, 329 repro.
1925
A Loan Exhibition of the Earliest Known Portraits of Americans Painted in This Country by Painters of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Exh. cat. Century Association, New York, 1925: no. 16.
1928
Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Collected by Thomas B. Clarke. Exh. cat. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928, unnumbered.
1949
Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 132, repro.
1950
The Face of American History. Exh. cat. Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina, 1950: no. 9.
1951
American Portraits from the National Gallery of Art. Exh. cat. Atlanta Art Association, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 1951: no. 8.
1952
Opening Exhibition of the George Thomas Hunter Gallery of Art. Exh. cat. Chattanooga Art Association, 1952: unnumbered.
Sellers, Charles Coleman. Portraits and Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale. Philadelphia, 1952:63-64, no. 193, fig. 36.
1963
The Peale Heritage, 1763-1963. Exh. cat. The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1963: no. 4.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 86, repro.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 204, repro.
La Pintura de los Estados Unidos de Museos de la Ciudad de Washington. Exh. cat. Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 1980-1981: no. 3.
1981
Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: 71, repro. 73.
1983
Miller, Lillian B., et al., eds. The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family. 5 vols. New Haven and London, 1983-2000: 1(1983):124, n. 1.
Richardson, Edgar P., Brooke Hindle and Lillian B. Miller. Charles Willson Peale and His World. New York, 1983: 50, fig. 15, 245.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 255, repro.
1995
Miles, Ellen G. American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 118-120, color repro. 119.
Inscriptions
lower right: C. W. Peale pinxt:1772; on reverse: I.P.deHAAS AE 37 / Chas W. Peale PINX--1772
Wikidata ID
Q20178575