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| presidentgeorgewashington.wordpress.com |
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| wikipedia.org |
Charles Wilson Peale (1741-1827) had the distinction of painting this, the first portrait of George Washington, in 1772. Peale had been a saddler, but when he failed in that business, he turned to portraiture. And Washington was a natural choice as a sitter because the two men had served together in the military. They formed a friendship that lasted the rest of Washington's life, and Peale eventually painted dozens of Washington portraits.
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| www.uwf.edu |
Peale, who was the patriarch of a family of artists, was a man of many interests and many talents. Here's a self-portrait from 1822, with Peale showing off his museum, the first in the United States. The Peale museum was particularly significant because it displayed assembled mastodon skeletons from scientific expeditions that Peale had organized.
Charles Wilson Peale's portraits of George Washington are his most important work, but the painting that probably generates the most appreciation is the 1795 painting of Peale's sons Raphaelle and Titian, below.
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| photo by Don Juan Tenorio |
A masterpiece of trompe l'oeil, the stairway painting is surrounded by a real door frame and includes a perfectly matching real bottom step.
In his last days, George Washington visited Peale's studio and came across this painting. The courtly Washington was used to gawkers and as he passed by, he turned to the boys and bowed.
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