Charles Willson Peale
The Thomas Johnson Family
1771
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Charles Willson Peale
The Thomas Johnson Family
1771
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Sight: 45 3/4 x 57 1/2 in. (116.2 x 146.1 cm) Framed: 51 x 62 3/4 x 3 1/4 in. (129.5 x 159.4 x 8.3 cm)
Credit Line
Collection of the Trustees of the C. Burr Artz Trust, Frederick, Maryland, on extended loan to The Baltimore Museum of Art
Object Number
R.11862
As a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Thomas Johnson (1732 – 1819) proposed on June 15, 1775, that George Washington be named commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Two years later, Johnson became the first governor of the State of Maryland. A prominent jurist, he went on to serve on both the Maryland General Court and the Supreme Court of the United States. Charles Willson Peale painted Johnson with his wife, Anne Jennings (1745 – 1794). Their eldest son, Thomas, and their daughters Anne and Rebecca also appear in the portrait, as does the family dog.
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Sellers, "Portraits by Charles Willson Peale," Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., vol. 42, Pt. 1, 1952, no. 423, pp. 112-113.
Lillian B. Miller, 'The Dye is Now Cast; the Road to American Independence, 1774-1776,' Washington, D.C.: Published for the National Portrait Gallery by The Smithsonian Institution Press, 1975, ill. no. 23, p. 37
Daniel Blake Smith, 'Inside the Great House; Planter Family Life in Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake Society,' Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1980, ill.
Edgar P. Richardson, Brooke Hindle, Lillian B. Miller, 'Charles Willson Peale and His World,' New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1982, ill. no. 150 p. 205.
Linda Joy, "Library trustees moving valuable historic painting to Baltimore," (Frederick News-Post? n.d. but probably 1987/1988 based on dates of articles below on same subject)
Linda Joy, Peale dispute persists; Mayor opposes the move, 'The Frederick Post,' Frederick, MD, Thursday, January 7, 1988, pp. ?, A4, ill. p. ?.
The Peale painting belongs in Frederick, 'The Frederick News-Post,' Frederick, MD, Friday, January 8, 1988, p. A-6.
Roy Meachum, Library Big Daddy-ism, 'Frederick News-Post,' Jan. 11, 1988.
Peale portrait's transfer to BMA spurs controversy, Today section, 'The Sun,' Baltimore, MD. Wednesday, January 13, 1988, pp. 1D, 5D, ill. p. 5D.
Lillian B. Miller, "Father and Son: The Relationship of Charles Willson Peale and Raphaelle Peale," 'The American Art Journal,' Vol. XXV, nos. 1 and 2, 1993, pp. 4-61, ill. Fig. 8, p. 12.