Peale

Peale, family of early U.S. painters. The prolific and versatile Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827) is best known for his portraits of Washington and other leading figures of the American Revolutionary period. He studied with J.S. Copley and Benjamin West in London and in 1784 founded a museum in Philadelphia. Also a scientist, he invented false teeth, the velocipede (an early bicycle), and (with Thomas Jefferson) the polygraph. Other interests included taxidermy and paleontology. His younger brother, James Peale (1749–1831), was known mainly for his portrait miniatures. Charles's many sons included Raphaelle Peale (1774–1825), a pioneer of still-life painting; Titian Peale (1799–1885), an animal painter; Rubens Peale (1784–1865), a still-life painter; and Rembrandt Peale (1778–1860), a portraitist and founder of the Peale Museum, Baltimore. His most famous work is a portrait of Thomas Jefferson (1805).