Anna Claypoole Peale

Anna Claypoole Peale (March 6, 1791 – December 25, 1878) was an American painter who specialized in portrait miniatures on ivory and still lifes. She and her sister, Sarah Miriam Peale, were the first women elected academicians of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Early life Anna Claypoole Peale was born on March 6, 1791, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to James Peale (1749–1831) and Mary Chambers Claypoole Peale (1753–1829). Anna was the fourth of six children, and the third daughter. Her siblings were: Jane Ramsay (1785–1834), Maria (1787–1866), James Jr. (1789–1876), Margaretta Angelica (1795–1882), Sarah Miriam (Sally) (1800–1885) and Eleanor. Anna was the only child to carry the Claypoole name, and used it throughout her career. From a young age Anna watched her father, a miniature portrait artist, painting in his studio to learn the art form, "hours and hours at a time watching James progress. He took great pains in teaching her, pointing out the peculiar touches that produced his best efforts by giving a charm to the expression". Her entrepreneurial inclinations were evident at the age of 14 when she copied two French landscapes and sold them at auction for a good price.

Under her father's guidance, Anna began studying portraiture, and was able to capture viable likenesses of her sitters. Her father was likely encouraged to train Anna by his brother Charles Willson Peale who, with William Rush, co-founded the first American art academy, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). Anna served a five-year apprenticeship with her father, in whose studio she was later joined by her sisters Sarah Miriam and Margaretta Angelica. Anna must have been about sixteen when she painted Girl with a Book, circa 1807. This portrait communicates the artist's pleasure in the act of painting, which is revealed in a lambent play of light on the figure. The subject holds a book on which the artist's name is substituted for the title on the cover. From about 1810, Peale's paintings are generally signed, and as the artist adapted a professional persona, she added the initial C, an acknowledgement of her mother's family, the Claypooles, to her signature. at the Pennsylvania Academy's annual exhibition, two years after her father showed his last miniatures there. This was a signal to the public that Anna would assume commissions for portrait miniatures that her father would henceforth decline. But these expectations proved to be unrealistic when the War of 1812, fought mainly at sea, moved closer to home. On August 24, British troops marched into Washington, D.C., and within 24 hours systematically torched major government buildings. As the British advanced on Baltimore, the annual exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy had just concluded. Twelve years later, in 1824, Anna and her sister Sarah Miriam became the first women elected as academicians to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Family Anna's success in portraiture followed generations of portrait artists in her family. Charles Willson Peale, her uncle, was an important figure in the introduction of miniature painting in the American colonies. Her father also contributed to the evolution of the practice. Her sisters, Sarah Miriam, Maria, and Margaretta Angelica Peale were accomplished artists as well: Sarah Miriam as a portrait painter, and Maria and Margaretta Angelica as still life painters.

Both Peale brothers believed in pushing their children toward artistic careers. James Peale and Charles Willson Peale both had influential standing in the lives of their children, nieces and nephews.

Anna married William Staughton on August 27, 1829, who died in December 1829, in Washington, D.C. After his passing, she returned to Philadelphia to continue her studio portrait practice. Eleven years later, in 1841, she married General William Duncan, and retired from painting shortly thereafter.

Early career Anna was noted as someone who applied herself to her work with diligence and ambition. She developed a degree of precision in her work which enabled her to contribute to supporting her parents James and Mary. As early as 1805, at age 14, she sold her first paintings, which were two oil paint reproductions of Vernet landscapes, earning her $30—a considerable sum at the time.

Along with Anna's dedication, her uncle Charles Willson Peale assisted in her early career. He promoted her potential for commercial success, and sought commissions for her. Charles once said, “Her merit in miniature painting brings her into high estimation, and so many Ladies and Gentleman desire to sit for her that she frequently is obliged to raise her prices.” Anna's brother also assisted her in her early success by accompanying her on her trip to Boston.

Subject matter and style

Anna Claypoole Peale was known to have painted at least one hundred and forty miniatures, still lifes, landscapes and portraits in oils. This commissioned portrait of Harriet Girard Lallemand in 1818 was a stepping stone for Anna into a successful career as a portrait artist. As is common in her style, this work is mainly respected for its mastery of color; “heightened by the transparent blue shadows of reflected color under the chin that give definition to the features”. (Rosenbach Museum & Library, Philadelphia). Throughout her later career, Anna continued to exhibit artwork separate from her miniature portrait business. In 1824 Anna exhibited a copy of Jean-Baptiste Isabey's Miniature Portrait of Napoleon after Isabey. In 1828 she exhibited some of her miniatures at the Boston Athenaeum. A critic commented on her portrait of Mrs. Judson, wife of the Burmese Missionary: "dress extremely well finished...but the face appeared as if emerging from a murky atmosphere". Then in 1829, she exhibited Beatrice Cenci after Guido Reni not only at PAFA, but also, in 1831, at the Boston Athenaeum.

After a long career, Anna Claypoole Peale was the last miniature painter in an unbroken line of artists in the Peale family. Her career ended circa 1842, coinciding with the decline of the portrait miniature in the United States.