Charles Willson Peale

American, 1741 - 1827

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Shown from the knees up, a light-skinned man and woman are seated side-by-side on grassy rise in a landscape in this horizontal portrait painting. To our left, the man leans heavily toward the woman to our right, propped on one elbow near her hip. She sits upright, resting one hand over his forearm and wrist. The clean-shaven man looks at her with blue eyes under gray, arched brows. He has a straight nose, round cheeks, a hint of a double chin, and his pale pink lips are closed in a slight smile. He wears a forest-green coat, a white waistcoat embroidered with golden yellow, a white shirt and ruffled tie, and buff-colored breaches. His right hand, to our left, is propped loosely against his hip. Next to that hand, a green parrot stands with its wings lifted as it turns its head back over its body. The man’s other hand, near the woman, holds a long, wooden telescope. The woman looks off into the distance to our left with gray eyes. She has smooth cheeks, a delicate nose, and her pink lips also curl in a faint smile. A strand of pearls weaves through the brown hair loosely piled on her head and through the thick curls that fall over her shoulders. Her white dress is loosely draped around her body. An ocean-blue sash with gold stripes and fringe wraps around her waist, and a sprig of pink flowers is tucked into a fold at her neckline. She holds at least three peaches and a stem of leaves in her lap, and a spray of purple clover blossoms in her other hand, which rests lightly over the man’s forearm. A swath of white fabric, perhaps from her skirt, wraps up and over the man’s thigh, closer to her. Behind the woman, a tree grows on a low hill along the right edge of the canvas and off the top. The landscape opens into an expansive vista to our left with spindly trees growing in a low meadow that leads back to a body of water in the deep distance. Minuscule in scale, tiny boats and buildings line the water’s edge near the horizon. A few thin, silvery gray and petal-pink clouds skim across the pale blue sky.
Charles Willson Peale, Benjamin and Eleanor Ridgely Laming, 1788, oil on canvas, Gift of Morris Schapiro, 1966.10.1

Benjamin and Eleanor Ridgely Laming

Charles Willson Peale · 1788 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1966.10.1

A middle-aged, light-skinned man stands facing and looking at us, leaning on one arm propped on a tall rock in a landscape in this vertical portrait painting. The man looks out with dark blue eyes under curved black brows. He has a prominent nose, his full apricot-colored lips are closed, and there is a shadow of a beard on his smooth cheeks. He has a receding hairline, and his wavy, ash-gray hair curls around his high, white collar. The man wears a tawny-brown topcoat with white, ruffled cuffs at his wrists, and a long brown vest with fabric-covered buttons. He wears matching brown, knee-length pantaloons with white stockings, and black shoes with gold buckles. His feet are widely planted as he leans on the tall rock on his left elbow, to our right. His elbow rests on an open book on the tall, narrow rock, shaped like a podium. Writing visible in the thick book reads, “Nolumus Leges Angliae mutari.” He points with his other index finger to our right. Behind the man and to our right is a gray, stone statue of a woman wearing flowing robes. She holds a pair of scales in one hand a tall staff with a bell-like form at the top in the other elbow. The statue is angled toward the man, and the tall base on which she stands is carved with the words, “Co LEX ANGLI.” A tree with sickle-shaped leaves and peach-colored fruit spans the height of the composition behind the statue. Near the lower left corner of the composition, two halves of a piece of paper, torn from corner to corner, lies on the ground with the edges curling up. The writing on the paper reads, “Imperial Civil Law — Sumary proceeding.” A thick tree trunk curves in a shallow S shape up along the left edge of the canvas, behind the man. Fern-green jimson weed, clover, small flowers, and rocks carpet the ground beneath and around the man. In the distance, to our left, a man wearing a red coat, a tricorn hat, and holding a musket leads a mule carrying a pack, while sheep graze to our right. Pockets of azure-blue sky are visible beyond gray clouds to our left and fluffy, flaxen-yellow clouds to our right.
Charles Willson Peale, John Beale Bordley, 1770, oil on canvas, Gift of The Barra Foundation, Inc., 1984.2.1

John Beale Bordley

Charles Willson Peale · 1770 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1984.2.1

The painting shows a woman's figure from the waist up, seated, and her body is turned slightly to our left. Her head is turned to face the viewer. Her facial features are delicate, with a fair complexion, soft pink cheeks, and light blue eyes. She has long brown hair styled in voluminous waves, pulled back halfway and adorned with pearls. She is wearing a pale yellow gown with a low neckline accented by lace edges and a fabric decoration at the center of the bust. Her sleeves feature blue ribbon details and red jewel embellishments at the shoulders. The background is a muted brown.
Charles Willson Peale, Rebecca Bryan White (Mrs. John White), 1788, oil on canvas, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund, 1966), 2014.136.97

Rebecca Bryan White (Mrs. John White)

Charles Willson Peale · 1788 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  2014.136.97

Charles Willson Peale, John Philip de Haas, 1772, oil on canvas, Andrew W. Mellon Collection, 1942.8.9

John Philip de Haas

Charles Willson Peale · 1772 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1942.8.9

The image displays a detailed miniature portrait of a man in an oval frame. The portrait includes the man's head and top torso. He is facing slightly to the right with a neutral expression, featuring groomed eyebrows and a focused gaze. The man has light skin and dark, wavy hair in a classic historical style. He is dressed in 18th-century attire with a collar and dark outer garment. The gold frame is shiny and smooth, forming an oval shape with a loop for wearing. The background is a neutral light color.
Charles Willson Peale, John Beale Bordley, c. 1770, watercolor on ivory, Gift of The Barra Foundation, Inc., 1986.78.1

John Beale Bordley

Charles Willson Peale · c. 1770 · watercolor on ivory ·  Accession ID  1986.78.1

The image shows a man seated, turned slightly to the side but facing forward. His features include a prominent forehead, deeply set eyes, round spectacles, and shoulder-length gray hair. He is dressed in an ornate dark coat over a light-colored shirt, holding a thin metal rod. Beside him on a table are two ink pots and a quill. The background features a draped curtain and a view of a darkened sky with a jagged line.
Max Rosenthal, Benjamin Franklin, 1901, color mezzotint on China paper, Rosenwald Collection, 1964.8.1485

Benjamin Franklin

Max Rosenthal · 1901 · color mezzotint on China paper ·  Accession ID  1964.8.1485

Valentine Green, George Washington, 1785, mezzotint, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.4674

George Washington

Valentine Green · 1785 · mezzotint ·  Accession ID  1943.3.4674

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Bibliography

1983

  • Richardson, Edgar P., Brooke Hindle, and Lillian B. Miller. Charles Willson Peale and His World. New York, 1983.

  • Miller, Lillian B., Sidney Hart, Toby A. Appel, and David C. Ward, eds. The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family. 3 vols. to date. New Haven and London, 1983-1991.

1995

  • Miles, Ellen G. American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 112.