It All Comes Back To Art…

Happy Birthday Charles Wilson Peale!

Born in Maryland on April 15, 1741 Peale left behind a rich legacy before his death on February 22, 1827. Best known for his portrait work, the artist painted close to 60 portraits of George Washington starting in 1772, and had the honor of being the first artist Washington ever sat for.

Peale also worked as a saddle maker, carpenter, dentist, optometrist, shoemaker, taxidermist, writer, and patented several mechanical drawing devices during his lifetime. Peale was an avid natural historian and in 1801 organized the first U.S. scientific expedition which helped to procure animals for display in what became the first museum in America, the Philadelphia Museum later renamed the Peale Museum.

Peale fathered 16 children, some of whom made it into his paintings. The most well known are his sons Raphaelle and Titian, shown in a double portrait The Staircase Group from 1795, and painted in the trompe l’oeil style.