04/10/2026 General, American Furniture & Decorative Arts, American Art
The children of Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) had very big shoes to fill. Naming them after the most famous of European artists whose pictures would have been largely unknown to most late 18th century Americans, Rembrandt, Raphaelle, Rubens, and Titian (among other siblings), were poised for greatness and the family was instrumental in laying the foundation of how the arts and sciences were promoted in the early years of the United States. Often described as a “dynasty,” I prefer to think of them as the precocious progeny of our Founding Father of the Arts, almost like a 19th century version of The Royal Tenenbaums, with each child encouraged to develop their own abilities and make their way in the world. The opportunity to examine this very talented family comes to us through the wonderful works in Peale Family Paintings from the Estate of J. Ashley & Pamela Patterson Roach offered as part of Doyle’s American Paintings auction on April 14, 2026. Remarkably, these portraits and still lifes have descended through a branch of the family started by Rubens Peale and have remained intact to this day.
Charles Willson Peale may be best known for the portraits he created in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. These include a sharp circa 1778 miniature portrait in the collection long thought to depict an Officer of the Maryland Line, but recent scholarship has suggested this portrait is of Charles Willson’s brother James Peale. James had fought in the Battle of Princeton and in his own distinguished career as an artist made many copies of brother Charles’ famous portrait of General Washington on that battlefield. It is poignant that the Peale family retained this portrait and passed it down through many generations (lot 25).
Following the Revolution and starting his family, it is well known that Charles Willson acquired the first major mastodon skeleton discovered and excavated on U.S. soil. From this point on, he painted less and devoted his life to the study of natural history and the exhibition of specimens at his Philadelphia Museum. His great friend was fellow tinkerer Thomas Jefferson who wrote him a charming letter just days after leaving the White House in 1809. This excellent letter closes with mention of Peale’s scientific pursuits and a warm invitation: "I believe you never ramble for the purposes of looking out subjects for your Museum. Were a ramble to lead you to Monticello, we should all receive you with open arms & hearts. God bless you & give you many & happy years.” This important letter is offered in the Rare Books, Autographs & Maps sale on April 16 (lot 135).
But let us turn now to Charles Willson’s fourth son, Rubens Peale (1784-1865), this time named for a Flemish Baroque painter. Rubens struggled with weak eyesight and did not begin to paint until much later in life. He devoted his career to working alongside his father first at the Philadelphia Museum (founded the year he was born) and then at the Peale Museum in Baltimore. In 1825, he moved the museum to New York, but the Panic of 1837 sent the museum into debt, and he was forced to sell the collection to P.T. Barnum in 1847, linking the Peales with this most enterprising of Americans. The collection includes two portraits of a bespectacled Rubens, one as a young man before 1829 and the other as a distinguished older gentleman as painted by his daughter (Lot 27, Lot 31).
As mentioned, Rubens wouldn’t take up the brush until later in life, and the collection includes three works by him including two still lifes and a rare landscape view of a Pennsylvania river valley. A letter from Rubens offered in the collection refers directly to his painting Still Life with Flowers in a White Compote and Fruit which is painted on tin (Lot 40). In the letter, Rubens makes mention of his highly accomplished painter brother, writing “Rembrandt thinks tin best to paint fruit on, but I found it too smooth to take the paint, if the surface could be made rather rough it would be better to work on. He told your mother that it could be roughened by some sort of acid but she forgot what he used ... I feel anxious to know Remb. & Harriet's opinion of my early attempt at painting, perhaps by the time I have had as many years experience in the art as Rembrandt has had that I might be a tolerable artist in still life or fruit painting, young beginners must have patience and also much practice.” I think his still life, particularly the compote, is well rendered and it is unfortunate that Rubens did not start painting until his later years (Lot 29B).
Earlier in Rubens’ life came a wedding gift from his father. In 1820, Charles Willson Peale painted the elegant Portrait of Mrs. Rubens Peale, née Eliza Burd Patterson in which Rubens’ bride is presented with rosy cheeks, a fine opaque lace collar, and gentle curls in her hair (Lot 24). Rubens and Eliza had a daughter, Mary Jane, who became the last professional Peale family painter of the 19th century and is an important female artist of the period. The portrait of Mary Jane in the collection was painted by her famous uncle Rembrandt in the last year of his life. The portrait depicts Mary Jane at just about 30 and she exhibits similar features to her mother (Lot 29). The painting served two purposes as reported by Rembrandt in a series of letters included in the auction. He writes Mary Jane that “I know you have long wanted me to paint a Portrait of yourself …” and that he is "aware of your motive in wishing it - not only to possess a good head from my hand, but to profit by the occasion to learn as much as you can of the Art to which you are devoted." It is remarkable that Mary Jane sought this portrait from her uncle not just to be memorialized by his brush but to learn the art of portraiture from the source just as Rubens had with his still life (Lot 29A).
Finally, there is likely no more important painting in this collection than Mary Jane Peale’s Portrait of Philis painted in 1849 (Lot 34). Philis is shown in a head and shoulders pose looking directly at the viewer. She wears clothing delicately striped in pink and white. This is an early work by Mary Jane, in fact in her diary she reports it as her first. Philis had been a slave of the family of her mother and moved with Eliza and Rubens to New York and back to Pottsville, Pennsylvania with them after the sale of the museum to Barnum. It is unclear if Philis was emancipated, but it is known that she was quite close with Mary Jane and lived with the Peales until her death in 1854. Such portraits are scarce and important records of the lives of African Americans in the United States before the Civil War.
From Charles Willson’s earliest efforts as a military miniaturist to Rubens late-bloom as a painter to Mary Jane’s first work, the talents of three generations of the Peale family are on full display in Peale Family Paintings from the Estate of J. Ashley & Pamela Patterson Roach.
Auction Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at 10am
Exhibition April 11 - 13
Sale Info & Highlights
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