Artwork
Martha Stewart Wilson
Martha Stewart Wilson is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist James Peale. It dates from 1814 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a portrait in The American Wing, it functions to record the sitter’s likeness and suggest her social position within early‑American society.
The painting portrays Martha Stewart Wilson as a dignified woman, rendered in oil on canvas in 1814 by James Peale. As a portrait in The American Wing, it functions to record the sitter’s likeness and suggest her social position within early‑American society. The work’s iconography is straightforward: the figure is presented without overt allegorical attributes, emphasizing a realistic representation typical of the portrait genre of the period.
Its creation for a notable family indicates that the image served both as a personal record and a marker of familial prestige.
Technique & Style
Martha Stewart Wilson is executed in oil on canvas, a standard support for early nineteenth-century American portraiture. The painting measures 72.3 by 61 centimeters, a modest upright format suited to a half-length or bust-length likeness of a single sitter. James Peale, working in 1814, relied on the layered oil technique typical of his studio practice, building form through glazed passages over a prepared ground.
The work is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing collection, where it is classified as a portrait. No specific handling notes, conservation reports, or condition statements are recorded in the available documentation, so further remarks on surface state, stylistic mannerisms, or painterly execution cannot be substantiated from the supplied sources.
History & Provenance
James Peale executed this oil-on-canvas portrait of Martha Stewart Wilson in 1814. The work was created as a formal depiction of its subject during the early nineteenth century. Following its completion, the painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains housed within the institution's American Wing.
The artwork measures approximately 72.3 centimeters in height and 61 centimeters in width. While the specific circumstances of the original commission or the immediate chain of ownership between the artist's studio and the museum are not detailed in the available records, the piece is firmly established as part of the Metropolitan Museum's holdings, having been accessioned as a significant example of American portraiture from the period.
James Peale's 1814 oil-on-canvas portrait of Martha Stewart Wilson is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Classified within the museum's American Wing, the work depicts the subject in a formal portrait format. The painting measures 72.3 cm in height and 61 cm in width.
While the artwork is confirmed to be part of the Met's permanent holdings and has been categorized under its American Wing, the provided sources do not specify a unique inventory or accession number for the piece. Furthermore, the available documentation does not list any specific exhibition history, dates, or venues where the portrait has been displayed beyond its general location within the museum's collection.
Overview
This oil on canvas portrait depicts Martha Stewart Wilson seated in a chair. The artist rendered her in a simple dress and a hat, focusing on the intricate details of her attire and facial features. This careful attention to detail suggests an effort to convey the sitter's individual character, making the work a personal representation rather than a mere likeness.
Context
This portrait is housed within the American Wing, reflecting its significance to American art history. Its stylistic qualities, particularly the detailed rendering and direct presentation of the sitter, align with broader trends in American portraiture of the era. For further understanding of this artistic approach, comparisons can be drawn to the works of contemporaries such as James Peale, who shared similar aesthetic concerns.
Artist & collection
Artist
James Peale (1749 – May 24, 1831) was an American painter, best known for his miniature and still life paintings, and a younger brother of noted painter Charles Willson Peale.
