Sarah Peale (1800-1885) American
Birthplace/Origin: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Biography/Statement:
One of the many artist descendants of Charles Willson Peale, Sarah Peale was born in Philadelphia and became one of America’s first professional female artists and a leading portrait painter of her day. She also did still lifes. Her art career lasted nearly sixty years, and she supported herself financially and successfully competed with male painters of that time including John Wesley Jarvis, Thomas Sully, and Jacob Eichholtz.
Her father was James Peale, a brother of Charles Willson, and her family called her Sally. She took early art training from her uncle, Charles Willson Peale, in his studio in Washington D.C., and he, unlike her father, was a believer in the equality of women and encouraged her to pursue her talent.
He led her to many good contacts by taking her to numerous social events in Washington D.C., where she charmed many people in society, which, in turn, secured her important commissions. She was also a close friend of Thomas Sully, another prominent portrait painter, and he took Sarah and his own daughters to lectures on anatomy, a subject closed to women of that era because of the indelicacy of the subject.