Jared Sparks (1789–1866) began his career as a Unitarian minister and chaplain of the US Congress, but he later pursued pioneering work in American history, serving first as a professor and then as president of Harvard University (1848–53). This portrait exemplifies the finest work of Anna Claypoole Peale, the eldest daughter of James Peale, who instructed her in miniature painting. But unlike her father’s portraits, which are delicate and linear, Anna’s are typically vivid in color and strongly modeled.

Hardworking, independent, and accomplished, Anna exhibited widely and was active in Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Washington, and Boston. Elected to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1824, she painted many high-profile individuals, like Sparks.