Mrs. Charles Ridgely Carroll (Rebecca Pue)
Artist
Sarah Miriam Peale
(American, 1800 - 1885)
Dateca. 1822
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions29 x 24 1/4 in. (36 x 31 1/4 x 3 in. framed)
ClassificationsOil Painting
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Vose in memory of Sanford Low
Terms
Object number1964.56
DescriptionMrs. Charles Ridgely Carroll (1801-1851), one of Sarah Peale's earliest Baltimore patrons, was the daughter of Mary Ridgely Buchanan and Dr. Arthur Pue, a well-known physician of Anne Arundel (now Howard) County. Newly married couples often ordered matching or single portraits to decorate their new house and to commemorate their marriage; this portrait was likely painted around 1822, the year Rebecca Pue married Charles Ridgely Carroll (1800-1870) of Baltimore. (1) A miniature portrait of Rebecca by Louis Antoine Collas, dated 1819, may have been painted on the occasion of the couple's betrothal. (2) Rebecca Pue Carroll had eleven children before her death in 1851; her portrait was kept in the family for more than one hundred years.The portrait is an excellent example of Peale's early style. The subdued background of warm blush and beige tones presents a characteristic foil for the artist's interest in bolder colors, seen here in the deep bluish green velvet and ermine-trimmed cape and in the cape's bright yellow lining. Like Rebecca Carroll, many of Peale's sitters wear garments about their shoulders; the artist was fond of both the velvet and fur cape and the colorful Indian shawl popular during the 1830s and 1840s. The half-length format and the three-quarter profile were also standard in her work.
Not surprisingly, Sarah Peale's style is reminiscent of that of the older members of the Peale family, the thoughtful pose and charming demeanor of her sitter, as well as the insistence on draftsmanship and skillfully rendered flesh tones, are found in the portraits of Charles Willson Peale. Sarah's study with Rembrandt Peale is evident in her concern for expressive color and obvious delight in rendering fabric, furs, and delicate laces.
MAS
Bibliography:
Wilbur H. Hunter and John Mahey, "Miss Sarah Miriam Peale, 1800-1885: Portraits and Still Life", exhib. cat. (Baltimore: Peale Museum, 1967); Beverly Berghaus Chico, "Two American Firsts: Sarah Peale, Portrait Painter, and John Neal, Critic," "Maryland Historical Magazine" 71 (fall 1976): 349-59; Lillian B. Miller, ed., "The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family", 3 vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983); Anna Sue Hirschorn, "Anna Claypoole, Margaretta, and Sarah Miriam Peale: Modes of Accomplishment and Fortune," Lillian B. Miller, ed., "The Peale Family: Creation of a Legacy, 1770-1870", exhib. cat. (New York: Abbeville Press, 1996), pp. 220-47.
NOTES:
1 . For biographical information on the sitter, see Frick Art Reference Library, New York, photograph archives no. 3273. Additional genealogical information provided by Grace L. Grogaard, Library Assistant, Maryland Historical Society, letter, November 25, 1994, NBMAA curatorial files.
2. Whereabouts unknown; see Frick Art Reference Library, photograph archive no. 5187.
On View
On view
