The Legacy of the Peales

Charles Willson sketched views of West Point while traveling through the Hudson River Valley on his way to excavate the mastodon in 1801. He passed on his artistic skills and a love of nature to his children and grandchildren.

APS. Peale-Sellers Family Collection.

Like her grandfather, Mary Jane Peale also found inspiration in nature. Upon meeting William Trost Richards, an American landscape artist, in 1880, Mary Jane drew quick sketches of his paintings of the Cornwall coast.

APS. Presented by Pamela Patterson Roach, Elise Peale Patterson, 1971.

In early America, artists made oil color palettes by mixing powdered pigments with linseed oil. Rembrandt Peale attended chemistry lectures at the University of Pennsylvania in order to better understand the science of pigments.

APS. Peale-Sellers Family Collection.

In early America, artists made oil color palettes by mixing powdered pigments with linseed oil. Rembrandt Peale attended chemistry lectures at the University of Pennsylvania in order to better understand the science of pigments.

APS. Peale-Sellers Family Collection.

This sketch of George Washington portrays the first president as a Roman hero wearing a laurel wreath and toga. Early Americans frequently looked to ancient Rome for ideals of civic virtue and political integrity.

APS. Peale-Sellers Family Collection.

These sketches were likely intended for a child's primer, or textbook. Before the Revolution, primers featured British phrases and motifs. After 1776, illustrators like Titian Ramsay Peale II substituted a more American imagery to instill children with patriotic values.

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Anna Claypoole Peale specialized in miniatures. She and her sister, Sarah Miriam, were the first female members elected to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Both were successful painters at a time when professional female artists were rare.

APS. Gift of Sam Carrier and Susan Kane.

Mary Jane Peale carried the Peale family’s artistic legacy through the 19th century. Specializing in still lifes and portraiture, she painted in Europe and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Collection of La Salle University Art Museum, 97-D-394, Gift of Ann Chahbandour and Jay Robert Stiefel.

Charles Willson’s granddaughter, Mary Jane Peale, became a successful artist and carried on the Peale family’s artistic legacy.

APS. Peale-Sellers Family Collection.

All of the Peale family’s museum collections were sold at auction. In 1848, most of the natural and cultural collections were sold to Moses Kimball and P.T. Barnum, and tragically burned in 1851 and 1865. Some object collections can still be seen at the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture. Luckily, the city of Philadelphia bought many of Peale’s paintings, which can be seen next door at the Second Bank Building, part of Independence National Historic Park.

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Descendants of Coleman Sellers and Sophonisba (Peale) Sellers have documented the history and legacy of the family. The Sellers have been major contributors to the American Philosophical Society Library’s Peale-Sellers Family Collection. It is the world’s largest  collection of Peale family archival materials, comprising some 38 boxes and 147 volumes and materials as diverse as those in this exhibition. Researchers from around the world come to the Society to study the Peales.

APS. Peale-Sellers Family Collection.

Descendants of Coleman Sellers and Sophonisba (Peale) Sellers have documented the history and legacy of the family. The Sellers have been major contributors to the American Philosophical Society Library’s Peale-Sellers Family Collection. It is the world’s largest  collection of Peale family archival materials, comprising some 38 boxes and 147 volumes and materials as diverse as those in this exhibition. Researchers from around the world come to the Society to study the Peales.

APS. Peale-Sellers Family Collection.