Mrs. George Willig
Medium
Painting-Miniature
Classification
Painting-Miniature
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Accession Number
1959.9.2
Tags
bust
About this artwork
George Willig (1764-1851) was a German expatriate who, arriving in Philadelphia in 1794, took over the first music publishing company in America. He published sheet music through the 1840s, and his son, George Jr., ran a Baltimore branch of the firm from 1829 to 1879. Given Peticolasâs serious interest in music, it seems appropriate that he would paint the music publisherâs wife.