1772

Portrait of Mary Benezet (1755-1808)

American, 1741 - 1827

During the summer of 1772 Charles Willson Peale completed several important portrait commissions in Philadelphia and although he did not relocate from his native Maryland to the city until 1776, he was already considering the move. Among these notable works is this elegant portrait of Mary Benezet (1755–1808), the youngest of three daughters of a prominent merchant, Daniel Benezet. Peale painted handsome likenesses of all three sisters but Mary’s engaging glance and sweet smile suggest that the artist found rendering this fine and detailed likeness a particularly pleasurable task.