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Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician, and naturalist. In 1775, inspired by the American Revolution, Peale moved from his native Maryland to Philadelphia, where he set up a painting studio and joined the Sons of Liberty.
Charles Willson Peale was an American painter best remembered for his portraits of the leading figures of the American Revolution and as the founder of the first major museum in the United States. As a young man, Peale worked as a saddler, watchmaker, and silversmith.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Of the three most talented painters born in the British colonies of North America, Charles Willson Peale, Benjamin West and John Singleton Copley, only Peale remained in America after the Revolution.
Charles Willson Peale is best remembered for his monumental portraits of George Washington and other Revolutionary War--era figures, and for organizing and opening America’s first natural history and art museums in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
- April 15, 1741
- February 22, 1827
Charles Willson Peale is an essential figure of the early American period. He was a genuinely American story—rising from nothing to achieve great fame and importance. He also embodies the enlightenment spirit of the Renaissance man, as an artist, scientist, and even inventor.
Saddle maker, officer, artist, museum founder. He began as a saddle maker, taught dancing lessons in Colonial America, completed mezzotints in London, and served as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He also became one of the most prolific artists of his era.
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Charles Willson Peale—artist, Maryland native, radical patriot, inventor, and naturalist—was one figure who helped shape American self-perception. Peale was the first to provide authentic images of George Washington as well as other Revolutionary War heroes.
