Mrs. James Smith and Grandson
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Levering Smith, Jr. and museum purchase
Accession Number
1980.93
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1776, the very year the American Declaration of Independence was, Charles Willson Peale captured a tender moment in *Mrs. James Smith andson*. This waist-length portrait depicts the elderly Mrs. Smith seated with her young grandson, both engaged in reading—a poignant symbol of family bonds and the value of education amid revolutionary upheaval. Peale, a Founding Father figure and masterful portraitist, painted numerous leaders like George Washington, blending Enlightenment ideals with realistic detail to immortalize everyday Americans. As a key work from the Revolutionary era, the painting...
About the Artist
Charles Willson Peale · 1741–1827
Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827) was an American painter, museum founder, naturalist, and inventor who became the most important American portraitist of the Revolutionary era and a central figure in the cultural life of the young republic. Born in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, he initially trained as a saddler before turning to painting, studying briefly with John Singleton Copley in Boston and ...