Paintings and Drawings in the Museum Collections
Over the last 150 years, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association has been fortunate to acquire a number of fine examples of the Peales' likenesses of the Washington family.
Our collection includes portrait miniatures of George and Martha Washington, Martha Parke Custis, and John Parke Custis by the patriarch of the family, Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827), as well as a cabinet-sized oil portrait of President Washington by the artist; a miniature likeness of Martha Washington by Charles' brother, James Peale (1749-1831); and an example of his son Rembrandt Peale's (1778-1860) iconic "porthole portrait" of the commander in chief. Conspicuously absent from this impressive roster-- until 2009 --was an image of Washington by Charles Willson Peale's nephew, Charles Peale Polk (1767-1822).