Nathanael Greene
Medium
Watercolor on ivory
Dimensions
1 3/4 x 1 3/8 in. (4.5 x 3.5 cm)
Classification
Painting, miniature
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924
Accession Number
24.109.92
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the intimate world of Revolutionary America with Charles Willson Peale's *Nathanael Greene* (1778), a delicate watercolor miniature on ivory measuring just 1 3/4 x 1 3/8 inches. This tiny portrait captures Major General Nathanael Greene, George Washington's trusted second-in-command during the American Revolution. Painted at the height of the war, it reflects Peale's role as a chronicler of the era's heroes, blending patriotism with portraiture in the Neoclassical style favored by early American artists. The medium—watercolor on ivory—was prized for 18th-century miniatures, allowing...
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 ...