Anna Claypoole Peale
1812
Medium
Watercolor on ivory
Dimensions
3 x 2 5/8 in. (7.5 x 6.8 cm)
Classification
Painting, miniature
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1938
Accession Number
38.146.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 19th century, Peale crafted this delicate portrait miniature of Anna Claypoole Peale, dated 1812 and measuring just 3 x 2⅝ inches. Rendered in watercolor on ivory—a favored medium for such intimate works—this piece exemplifies the miniaturist's art, where fine brushes and translucent pigments captured lifelike details on a tiny, luminous surface. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, it the Federal-era elegance of American portraiture. James Peale, a prominent Philadelphia artist and brother to painter Charles Willson Peale, specialized in these pocket-sized g...
About the Artist
James Peale
James Peale was an American painter born in 1749, the younger brother of the more famous Charles Willson Peale, and a member of one of the most remarkable artistic families in the history of American art. Trained largely by his brother, James worked for many years in Charles Willson's shadow, assisting with portraits and miniatures in the Philadelphia studio before developing his own independent p...