page_title: Peggy Shippen
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Peggy Shippen / Early life
caption_attribution_description: English: Chief Justice Edward Shippen of Pennsylvania, by Gilbert Stuart Identifier: arttreasuresofwa00hend (find matches) Title: The art treasures of Washington&#160;: an account of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and of the National Gallery and Museum, with descriptions and criticisms of their contents; including, also, an account of the works of art in the Capitol, and in the Library of Congress, and of the most important statuary in the city Year: 1912 (1910s) Authors: Henderson, Helen Weston, 1874- Subjects: Art museums Art Art Publisher: Boston&#160;: L. C. Page &amp; Company Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: the founders of the Col-of New Jersey, a subscriber to the Philadel-phia Academy (afterwards the Tniversity of Penn-sylvania), a founder of the Pennsylvania Hospitaland the American Philosophical Society. Edward, son of the second Edward, and the sub-ject of the portrait, was bom in Philadelphia in1729 and died there in (806, having filled manyimportant offices, for which his profession of jurist fitted him. He was made chief justice of the Su-preme Court, by ( r McKean, in 1700. andheld the until his resignation in (805. Tohis pen we he first law reports in Pennsyl-vania. The best extant portrait of him is this oneby Gilbert Stuart, preserved by the Corcoran Gal-lery in Washington. His third daughter, Margaret,familiarly known as u Peggy Shippen/1 was a great belle and beauty in her day. and became the second wife of Benedict Arnold. It \\;h just such a man as this that inspired Stu-art- keenest interest, and the portrait is a superbspecimen of his most eloquent style, needing little Text Appearing After Image: PORTR Mi- ll IK F JUSTICE SHIPPEN,By I rilbert Stuart OF PENNSYLVANIA Earu? portrait painters 10a ml to attract the observer to its rare qualities of colour, character, form, and masterlypressh eness. The replica of the Athenaeum portrait of Wash-ington, by Gilbert Stuart, was presented to the Cor-coran Gallery in (902, by Mrs, Benjamin OgleTayloe, and though it appears a perfunctory exam-ple of this familiar type, its history is well authen-ticated. It was purchased from Stuart himself byColonel John Tayloe, of Mount Airy. The third Stuart is a u Portrait of Colonel Sam-uel Miles/1 and was a gift to the institution fromMiss Elizabeth F. McKean, in 1909. This is aninteresting and characteristic example, despite theravages of time and the restorer, which have com-bined to destroy the original vigour of the por-trait. As is well known, Stuart availed himself of everyad vantage offered by the surface upon which hepainted. The portrait of Colonel Miles is doneupon a wooden panel, which ha Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: Margaret "Peggy" Shippen was the highest-paid spy in the American Revolution, and was the second wife of General Benedict Arnold.
  Shippen was born into a prominent Philadelphia family with Loyalist tendencies. She met Arnold during his tenure as military commander of the city following the British withdrawal in 1778. They were married in the Shippen townhouse on Fourth Street on April 8, 1779, and Arnold began conspiring with the British to change sides soon after. Peggy played a role in the conspiracy which was exposed after British Major John André was arrested in September 1780 carrying documents concerning the planned surrender of the critical Continental Army base at West Point.
  Arnold escaped to New York City and Peggy followed. They traveled together to London at the end of 1781, where she established a home and Arnold rebuilt a trading business. In 1787, she joined him in Saint John, New Brunswick, where his difficulties with local businessmen forced them to return to London in December 1791. Arnold died in 1801, after which she had to settle his business affairs and pay off his debts. She died in 1804, having borne five children who survived infancy.
context_section_description: Margaret Shippen was born July 11, 1760 in Philadelphia, the fourth and youngest daughter of Edward Shippen IV and Margaret Francis, the daughter of Tench Francis, Sr.; she was nicknamed "Peggy". She was born into a prominent Philadelphia family, which included two Philadelphia mayors and the founder of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Edward Shippen was a judge and member of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania; the Shippen family was politically divided, and the judge was considered either a "Neutralist" or a covert "Tory " with allegiance to the British crown. Two younger boys died in infancy, and Peggy grew up as the baby of the family and was the "family's darling."
  As a young woman, she enjoyed music, doing needlework, and drawing, and participated in the study of politics. She looked up to her father and, under his tutelage, learned about politics, finance, and the forces which led to the American Revolution.
caption: Chief Justice Edward Shippen of Pennsylvania, painted by Gilbert Stuart
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