Newly discovered American portrait miniature of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale comes to a London saleroom

Estimated at £15,000-25,000, it is on sale at Roseberys on July 9 in the Old Master, British & European Pictures auction.

It is extremely rare to see a portrait miniature of a founding father by Peale at auction, with only four appearing on the market in recent years and all of those in the US.

This recently consigned miniature was previously in the private collection of a prominent lady, where it had been languishing for decades. The identity of the artist and sitter were unknown but the miniature struck Charlotte Russell, head of sale at the saleroom in West Norwood, south London, as particularly arresting and worthy of further investigation: “Only then did we discover the work’s true identity and significance.”

Significant discovery

After an in-person inspection, the independent miniature expert Emma Rutherford verified the sitter’s identity as George Washington (1732-99) and the attribution to Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827).

Russell says: “This is, as far as we are aware, the first time a portrait miniature of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale has appeared in a British auction, and we are absolutely thrilled to be bringing it to the market. It feels particularly momentous now, so close to the US presidential election.”

The Founding Father - George Washington

This rare and important work in watercolour on ivory depicts Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American War of Independence. Gazing calmly and confidently out at the viewer, and wearing the bold blue sash which signified his C-in-C status, Washington is shown as an officer at the height of his military career, a decade before he would become the first US president.

Renowned American portraitist Peale painted Washington several times throughout an illustrious military and political life. The present miniature appears to be derived from an initial sitting in 1779, when the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania commissioned him to paint a portrait commemorating the general's recent victories at the battles of Trenton (1776) and Princeton (1777).

The initial full-length portrait that resulted from this sitting is now in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Peale went on to paint several more versions of his popular portrait, both in oil and in miniature, most of which are now held in museum collections. These include the full-length portraits in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the White House Collection in Washington, DC, and the Palace of Versailles.

A portrait miniature of Washington now in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts shows particularly strong similarities to the example presented here.

Charles Willson Peale

Maryland-born artist Peale briefly apprenticed as a saddler before establishing himself as a portrait painter, becoming acquainted with fellow American painters John Hesselius (1728-78) and John Singleton Copley (1738-1815).

He also spent several years in London, studying with American-born artist Benjamin West (1738-1820). It was in Britain that Peale became trained in the art of painting portrait miniatures and he continued to import his supplies from Britain even after his return to the US.

During the war of independence, Peale enlisted in the army and fought alongside many of his sitters as a soldier, rising to the rank of captain. He carried a case of miniature painting supplies with him during military campaigns, which allowed him to paint his fellow officers between battles.

Writing to Benjamin West in 1783, Peale reflects: “I have done more in miniature than in any other manner, because these are more portable and therefore could be kept out of the way of a plundering enemy.”

He is thought to have painted over 130 miniatures during the conflict, including portraits of other important figures such as Henry Knox and Nathanael Greene, but it is for his portraits of Washington that he is best remembered.