William E. Dickson

Raphaelle Peale, William E. Dickson, ca. 1815, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1944.3.32
Copied Raphaelle Peale, William E. Dickson, ca. 1815, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 181 34 in. (5.44.3 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1944.3.32
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
William E. Dickson
Date
ca. 1815
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sight 2 181 34 in. (5.44.3 cm) oval
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor on ivory
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait male — Dickson, William E. — bust
Object Number
1944.3.32

Artwork Description

William Dickson (1775-1843) was Greeneville, Tennessee’s first postmaster. In 1815 he built a home for his only daughter, Catharine Douglas Dickson [see 1944.3.33], who married Dr. Alexander Williams. The house and its formal gardens were known as the “Showplace of East Tennessee,” and the family hosted such famous guests as Davy Crockett, the Marquis de Lafayette, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and President James Polk. The house is now known as the Dickson-Williams Mansion, and is a museum open to the public.