Renowned American painter (1778-1860) regarded as one of the finest portrait artists of his day, most famous for his paintings of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. ALS, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.75 x 7.75, April 12, 1858. Letter to a gentleman, in part: "My lectures at the Smithsonian Institute were respectfully attended, considering its distance from the city & the numerous engagements which prevented many persons from attending who afterwards flattered me with their regrets. In this time of political excitement I have found it difficult to get the ear of those senators & others with whom I was desirous to obtain favor—yet a beginning has been made. My picture is well placed in the rotunda where it appears to give more satisfaction than I had anticipated, in comparison with the great pictures there—part of which is owing to the large proportions of my horse & man, as well as to the commanding aspect of the head of Washington, which surpassed my expectation. Mr. Bigler, senator from Pennsylvania, presented a resolution referring to the Library Committee the expediency of purchasing my picture, but Mr. Pearce, the chairman of that committee, has been absent, & I have not seen him to ask his early attention to it. Today I go to Baltimore to pack up my portrait of Judge Marshall which I propose taking next week to Richmond, where I shall give my lecture & hope to sell my Marshall." In fine condition.
In this superb letter, Peale makes reference to his epic equestrian portrait of George Washington entitled 'Washington before Yorktown,' showing the Continental Army's heroic commander gallantly riding a white horse, flanked by his officers behind him: at left, Henry Knox, Benjamin Lincoln, and Comte de Rochambeau behind the Marquis de Lafayette, and, at right, Alexander Hamilton. Peale painted the work in 1824-25, with the hope that Congress would purchase it for display in the Capitol Rotunda. Despite ongoing efforts throughout the years, the government never purchased the work, although it was twice displayed in the Rotunda during Peale's lifetime. His heirs donated the work to Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in 1873, and it was then given to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1944.
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