New-York tribune., 1876-07-17
FINE ARTS.
A SOUVENIR OF THE CENTENNIAL YEAR
prvpRAyDr PEALE's PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON
,,,,r, J,mrs r. OsgOod & Co. OF Boston

A SOUVENIR OF The CENlENNlAb iE+'h'
prupRANDT PEALEs PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON
Messrs. James II. 0SgOod " Co. OF Boston
have done all patriotic Americans service by phOiSh
inc COPY OF the thograph made 10y kemorahut re"le
,ar his own portrait of Washington. 1t may interest
49, dors f Tar TRIBUNE to recall the history OF TINS
,ortr,it which shares with the painted by STUART
the honor of having accepted 10y grateful country
as the tITest pictures Of her noblest man.
Rembrandt Pcae was the son OF Charles "lson rea'''
- ,yho was a inefficient in a dozen arts-who was, by
tuns sadier. harpess-makcr sHVcIShhth' u cio'h
and watch maker and portrait paiut,r-but WHO 10 re
pembersd chiefly as the painter of the only portrait oi
washington taken before the Revolutionary war; "hen
,e w,s colonel i'm the British service. Peae dd other
things worthy Of remembrance: he served galauty as
the commander of company OF volunteers III 'ie ""'
NJ Trenton and Germantown; we owe To nun great
many portraits Of men distinguished in ihe heNo
lutonary War, and his Museum, long one OF inc
most attractive places Of public resort III fhiIddepn"
Was We believe the tlrst institution OF the hindin me cou
,rv His second SON. Rembrandt Peale' was oofh lh
,77a and died so late as 800 At the aG' OF eight nc Is
said TO have shown skill in drawing, ana "heh
eighteen years old Washington at his ftherS request
gave him sittings for his portrait. Rcmoraht fo''c
afterward went to England and studied WIN beianin
West who fostared his talent and gave INN hos'l'a'y
aud aid for time after the funds Whch he ''u
brourht for his support used up On his return 10
America lie established himself in Pmadei'
mia "a a portrait painter, and conu .ueu
the good work begun by his father III
the collection OF portraits OF the distinguished Ame'
cans for the Museum But bis chief work was TIE pro
du,tion of his portrait of Washington. Oh which ne Dc
slowed an amount OF labor only equaled Oy that which
Houdon had given his statue, produced IN l1oo-s.
Taking as the foundation of his picue his own youth
full pencil sketches, he proceeded TO build up II we may
40 express it, from all the aids he could gt portrait
that should satisfy his idea His fathers portrait
WAS OF great help 10 MIN. but Houdons Dnst'
which stnart-as we learn from tie interesting
and valuable article tho stuart Portrait
of washington" written by his daughter and
nu,lished in the July number Of Sr59bner-cOn-
sidered the best Of all the Hkeuesses that had been
taken-was Peales principal model and he had It always
before him he worked, trying to transfer lts character
and expression his picture. Undoubtedly Poale
was not the artist that Stuart but he had respect
able talent and took great pains to educate IT, and
SPARED no labor supplying its deficiencies His por-
trait of Washington, produced under such circun-
stances was so generally approved tha Congress bought
A. for the sum Of $2,OOO-a large sum in those
days-and ordered it hung up in the Senate
Chamber Its excellence as a likeness Is wit
messed to by many distinguished men wGo knew wash
ington personally by Chiei-Justce Marshall, by Bush
rod Washington Charles Carroll of Carroton. Edward
Livingston, Bishop White and william Rush. Their
testimony strong. and is given with such earnest
ness as 10 make il evident there IS something more tha
mere likeness Washington's features ia this portrait
IL must have had real merit to have recalled the man NJ
strongly TO his friends And considering bow poorly OH
the world is for portraits OF its greatest men, We Oughto
feel gratitude those artists who did what they cCuo u"
preserve for us tie neaments Of the only IGter Fdt@
who ev truly deserved that lofty name.
Toward the close of bis iehe died in 1860. and 1t
may perhaps be allowed curious coincidence thai he
was born on the day Of the same month
with Washinyton-PeLe undertook the labor OF
making a careful copy on photographic stone
OF his head Of Washington. From this draw
ing he took impressions, few Of which he worked
up with the erayOn OF course they varied IN quality,
for the artist was Old but they had value OF their
own as being the work of a man 10 whom Washington
had actually sat during his first Presidency and the best
Of them far superior to engraved head Of Wash
ingtOn that can be procured
One OF the best Of these copies has been now repro
duced by Messrs. OsgoOd Co., and it il 80 well exc
cuted-hthography lending itself better 10 the helioypc
than any other kind OF en- Tayug-and is TO c had al 81
cheap rate, that Or the rst time il may hc 2Iid good
portrait Washington put within the Fcich OF every
hDly