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peale

August 21, 2015 Leave a Comment

The Peale Family of Artists

The Art Curator for Kids - Artwork of the Week - The Peale Family of Artists

Inside: Learn more about Charles Willson Peale and his many artist children who were named after artists! The Peale family artists from the Revolutionary time period in America are talented and fascinating.

The Art Curator for Kids - Artwork of the Week - The Peale Family Artists

Today’s Artwork of the Week is The Peale Family by Charles Willson Peale, an American portrait painter from the revolutionary time period.

The Peale Family Artists Charles Willson Peale, The Peale Family, 1773
Charles Willson Peale, The Peale Family, 1773

Charles Peale is famous for his portraits and his influence in the world of museums. He founded a natural history museum which eventually became the Philadelphia Museum.

Charles Willson Peale Family, The Artist in His Museum (Self-Portrait), 1822
Charles Willson Peale, The Artist in His Museum (Self-Portrait), 1822

He had was a lover of art and named 12 of his 17 children after artists and great thinkers. The Peale family includes Raphaelle Peale, Angelica Kauffmann Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Titian Ramsay Peale (x2), Rubens Peale, Sophonisba Augusciola Peale, Rosalba Carriera Peale, Vandyke Peale, Charles Linnaeus Peale, Benjamin Franklin Peale, and Sybilla Miriam Peale.

Charles Willson Peale, The Staircase Group, 1795
Charles Willson Peale, The Staircase Group (Portrait of Raphaelle and Titian Peale), 1795

Not only were his kids named after artists, but many of the Peale family ended up becoming artists themselves. There’s a story of father Charles Peale and son Rembrandt Peale painting a portrait of George Washington with many of the other children watching on and sketching and painting alongside their dad and brother. Gilbert Stuart (the painter who painted the Washington portrait that is on the dollar bill) said to Washington that he was being “Pealed all around!” (Source: MFA Boston).

These are the two portraits of Washington from the same sitting. You can tell Charles Peale and Rembrandt Peale were sitting in slightly different places!

George Washington by Charles Willson Peale and Rembrandt Peale
George Washington by Charles Willson Peale (left) and Rembrandt Peale (right)

If you want to see more of their work, check out this slideshow of works by the Peale family: Charles Peale, Anna Peale, James Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale, Raphaelle Peale, and Sarah Peale.

[slideshow_deploy id=’5146′]

Filed Under: Art and Artists
Tagged With: peale

 

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