About the Artwork
In this intimate miniature on ivory, Anna Claypoole Peale captures the youthful spirit of her cousin Rosalba Peale. While the conventions of the time generally prohibited genteel women from working outside of the home, Anna and Rosalba were both professional artists. Anna was trained by her father, James Peale. Rosalba was trained by her father, Anna’s uncle, Rembrandt Peale. Both were among the first women admitted to the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
This miniature appears in Charles Willson Peale’s affectionate portrait of his younger brother, James, also in the Detroit Institute of Arts’ collection. Known as The Lamplight Portrait, it shows James, seated at a table, examining Anna’s portrait of her cousin.
Rosalba Peale
1820
Anna Claypoole Peale
1791-1878
American
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Watercolor on ivory
Unframed: 3 1/8 × 2 3/4 inches (7.9 × 7 cm) Framed: 6 5/8 × 6 × 5/8 inches (16.8 × 15.2 × 1.6 cm)
Miniatures
American Art before 1950
Founders Society Purchase, Gibbs-Williams Fund
53.345
Public Domain
Markings
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Provenance
1953-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)For more information on provenance, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Hirshorn, A. "Legacy of Ivory: Anna Claypoole Peale's Portrait Miniatures." Bulletin of the DIA 64, 4 (1989): pp. 17-27 (fig. 1).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Anna Claypoole Peale, Rosalba Peale, 1820, watercolor on ivory. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Gibbs-Williams Fund, 53.345.
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