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Portrait of Margaretta Angelica Peale (1795-1882)

c. 1820
James Peale (American, 1749–1831)

James Peale’s work is characterized by a refined use of color and delicate execution, as seen here in this portrait of his daughter Margaretta. He portrays her calm, gentle personality through his rendering of her full, pink lips, ivory complexion, deep blue eyes, and skillfully described lace collar.

One of five daughters of James Peale and his wife Mary Claypoole Peale (1753–1829), Margaretta was trained to assist James in fulfilling his artistic commitments during his frequent bouts of ill-health—like her elder sister the miniature painter Anna Claypoole Peale, and her younger sister the portraitist and still life painter Sarah Miriam Peale.

Unlike her sisters, Margaretta did not pursue a public or fully engaged professional career away from home. R/ather, she occasionally exhibited small scale still life pictures at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and developed a limited but appreciative clientele for her work.


Object Details

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