CHARLES WILLSON PEALE. Autograph Document
Signed, no place, no date [Philadelphia, PA, 1779 or 1780]. 1 page,
2" x 7".
A Revolutionary
War-date document from this important early American artist who painted
portraits of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams, among many
others. Charles Willson Peale was also an officer in the American Revolution,
an engraver, founder of the Peale Museum, which contained both art and
natural curiosities, and the father of artists Raphael, Rembrandt, and
Titian Ramsay Peale.
This
document dates from Peale's one year of service in the Pennsylvania
assembly, from October 1779 to October 1780, during the Revolution.
It is a pay order in which Peale directs, "Sir please to pay
unto Nicholas Spencer the Sum of Sixteen pounds Seventeen Shillings
& Six pence for Cartage Plank &c...for the State."
He has signed in full, "Charles Willson Peale." While
in the assembly, Peale served on thirty-two different committees, including
several relating to repairs of the State House (now Independence Hall)
and some adjacent buildings. This document probably relates to one such
assignment.
The document
has expert repairs to fold breaks on the verso, and is somewhat unevenly
toned. Overall, the piece is in very good condition, with Peale's writing
and signature dark and clear.
Peale's
is one of the scarcest autographs among American artists. $2500.00
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