Mary (Carr) Grundy and
Mary Grundy

Artist/Maker
Peale, Charles Willson
Place Made
Baltimore Maryland United States of America
Date Made
1789
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
HOA: 39 1/4″; WOA: 27 1/4″
Accession Number
3973
Description
DESCRIPTION: Oil on canvas painting of a woman and a young child. The painting is signed below center on the right side by the artist. The adult figure is half-length and seated on a gilded chair upholstered in red fabric. She has brown hair adorned with a silver ribbon, brown eyes, and wears a white dress with a narrow gold braid around her neck and a blue sash with a gold tassel. The baby has light brown hair, hazel eyes, and wears a white dress. The background is grey at left, and there is a red-brown curtain at right.

FRAME: 3′ diameter gold leaf.

History
SITTERS: Mrs. Grundy, nee Mary Carr, was born in 1762, and married George Grundy (1755-1825), a Baltimore merchant, in 1780. Their estate “Bolton” was named for her ancestral home in England, and it was located near Baltimore. Mary, the child in this work, was born in April, 1788, and she was not quite one year old when the painting was done. She died at age 21 from a fall.

STYLE: The portrait reflects several features which are typical of Peale’s work: oval-shaped faces, the sash at the waist ending in a gold tassel, red upholstered chair with gilt carving, and hair piled high and laced with either pearls, or in this case ribbon, long curl with wispy treatment of the rest of the hair. Children in Peale’s portraits are quite appealing, and he seems to have been a rare colonial artist with an affinity for them. Mrs. Grundy is looking slightly away from the artist, and her head is tilted to the left. This is balanced by the child, who is looking straight ahead with her head tilted to the right. The mother’s arm and long fingers support the child, but notice that Peale has the child grasping the lace at the bodice of the mother’s dress as if for additional support. The mother is seen as if she was posed alone. The baby on her lap actually appears as if she was laying in her cradle.

HISTORY: The picture did not satisfy the family, and Peale’s comment in his diary, Jan. 24, 1789, betrays some defensive asperity and illustrates his response to the criticism. He wrote: “Mrs. Grundy and child I believe quite done. The picture I esteem one of my best pieces. The mother being a fine figure and the child handsome.” He clearly gave in as the next page records that “I painted anew the head of Mrs. Grundy, which pleased better than the first.” Peale was paid thirty-five pounds for this painting.

Artist Biography
ARTIST: Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was born in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. A Kent County schoolmaster, Charles’ father died when the boy was nine. Mrs. Peale took her five children to Annapolis, where she worked at needlework to support her family. Charles was apprenticed to a saddler, and he was so successful that by the age of twenty, he made repairs outside of the shop and was allowed to keep any money he made. On a business trip to Norfolk in that year, Charles saw the paintings of Joseph Frasier, whom he considered of limited artistic ability. Shortly thereafter, Charles himself began to paint.
By 1763 he advertised as a sign painter and was commissioned to paint a few portraits as well as political campaign banners. He studied independently and with John Hesselius. He also travelled to Boston where he viewed the works of John Smibert, met John Singleton Copley, and completed a number of portraits. In 1767 Peale went to England where he studied with Alan Ramsey and Benjamin West. He stayed there two years, meeting such artists as Henry Benbridge.
In addition to painting, Peale supplemented his income by teaching. Benbridge’s future wife, Hetty Sage, was one of his pupils. He taught painting to a number of family members as well, including brother James, his children, Rembrandt, Raphaelle, Angelica Kaufman, Titian, and his nephew Charles Peale Polk. After 1775, Peale moved to Philadelphia, where he continued to paint, but also pursued other scientific and natural history interests.