Member of the Washington Family

James Peale, Member of the Washington Family, ca. 1795, watercolor on ivory, sight 2 x 1 ⁵⁄₈ in. (5.1 x 4.1 cm) oval, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1950.10.2

Free to use

Artwork Details

Title: Member of the Washington Family
Artist: James Peale
Date: ca. 1795
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sight 2 x 1 ⁵⁄₈ in. (5.1 x 4.1 cm) oval
Credit Line: Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums: watercolor
Mediums Description: watercolor on ivory
Classifications: Painting
Miniature
Subjects: Landscape
Portrait — unidentified — Washington
Portrait — unidentified — bust
Portrait — unidentified — child
Object Number: 1950.10.2
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1950.10.2

Artwork Description

Family lore holds that this brooch pin features the portrait of an illegitimate son of George Washington, fathered when Washington was eighteen years old. Washington lent financial support to neighbors and members of his extended family at Mount Vernon, making it difficult to determine how accurate that legend is. One theory is that this is the likeness of Corbin Washington (1765-1799), who married Hannah Lee, a daughter of Richard Henry Lee, in whose family this miniature descended.