Richardson Stuart

Rembrandt Peale created the oil-on-canvas portrait Richardson Stuart in 1815. Following the sitter's death in 1821, the work passed to his second wife, Sarah Glen Douglas Stuart, in Baltimore, who lent it to the Peale Museum in 1823. Ownership subsequently transferred to her brother, Jacob Douglas of Alexandria, Virginia, before descending to his daughter, Rebecca Douglas Hazlett, and her son, Douglas Hazlett.

The portrait was sold at Stan. V. Henkels in Philadelphia on February 5, 1920, to Thomas B. Clarke of New York. Upon Clarke's death, the painting was sold through M. Knoedler & Co. on January 29, 1936, to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust in Pittsburgh.

It entered the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as a gift from the trust in 1947, where it is part of the Andrew W. Mellon collection. The painting was lent by Mrs. Richardson Stuart to the Peale Museum in Baltimore for the Second Annual Exhibition in 1823, listed in the catalogue as number 127 in the section dedicated to works by American artists.

Richardson Stuart is an 1815 oil on canvas portrait by Rembrandt Peale that entered the National Gallery of Art through the Andrew W. Mellon collection. Its provenance traces from the sitter's widow, Sarah Glen Douglas Stuart, to her brother Jacob Douglas and subsequently to Rebecca Douglas Hazlett and Douglas Hazlett, before a 1920 sale at Stan. V. Henkels and a 1936 disposition through M. Knoedler & Co. to the Mellon Trust, which gave the work to the NGA in 1947.

The portrait was shown at the Peale Museum's Second Annual Exhibition in Baltimore in 1823 and has been part of the National Gallery of Art's collection since 1947. Scholarly attention has focused on its place within Rembrandt Peale's portrait practice, though detailed studies remain limited.

The painting entered the National Gallery of Art in 1947 as a gift from the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, which had acquired it from the Thomas B. Clarke estate sale through M. Knoedler & Co. in 1936. Its provenance traces back to the sitter's family, including his widow Sarah Glen Douglas Stuart and later Douglas Hazlett, before the Henkels sale of 1920. The work remains part of the National Gallery of Art's permanent holdings within the Andrew W. Mellon collection, where it contributes to scholarly recognition of Rembrandt Peale's role in early American portraiture.

Rembrandt Peale’s oil on canvas portrait, dated around 1815, depicts a middle‑aged gentleman with gray hair and a rounded face. He is dressed in a dark coat over a light‑colored shirt, accented by a neatly tied yellow cravat. The composition is set against an unadorned, dark backdrop that draws attention to the sitter’s calm expression.