William Shippen
1794
Medium
Painting-Miniature
Classification
Painting-Miniature
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Natalie Brooks Sears Shippen and William Brush Shippen
Accession Number
1999.87.5
Tags
About this artwork
William Shippen (1792-1867) was two or three years old when James Peale painted this miniature of him. William was the older brother of Thomas Lee Shippen, whose miniature was also painted by Peale [see 1999.87.4]. William would go on to earn a medical degree, and in 1817 he married Mary Louise Shore. The miniature is inscribed to William and Mary Louiseâs oldest niece, Jane Gray Wharton, from her mother.
About the Artist
James Peale
James Peale was an American painter born in 1749, the younger brother of the more famous Charles Willson Peale, and a member of one of the most remarkable artistic families in the history of American art. Trained largely by his brother, James worked for many years in Charles Willson's shadow, assisting with portraits and miniatures in the Philadelphia studio before developing his own independent p...