William Shippen

James Peale, William Shippen, 1794, watercolor on ivory, sight 1 ³⁄₄ x 1 ³⁄₈ in. (4.4 x 3.5 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Natalie Brooks Sears Shippen and William Brush Shippen, 1999.87.5

Free to use

Artwork Details

Title: William Shippen
Artist: James Peale
Date: 1794
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sight 1 ³⁄₄ x 1 ³⁄₈ in. (4.4 x 3.5 cm) oval
Credit Line: Gift of Natalie Brooks Sears Shippen and William Brush Shippen
Mediums: watercolor
Mediums Description: watercolor on ivory
Classifications: Painting
Miniature
Subjects: Portrait male — Shippen, William — bust
Figure male — child — bust
Object Number: 1999.87.5
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1999.87.5

Artwork Description

William Shippen (1792-1867) was two or three years old when James Peale painted this miniature of him. William was the older brother of Thomas Lee Shippen, whose miniature was also painted by Peale [see 1999.87.4]. William would go on to earn a medical degree, and in 1817 he married Mary Louise Shore. The miniature is inscribed to William and Mary Louise’s oldest niece, Jane Gray Wharton, from her mother.