Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection Archive
Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum
National Air and Space Archives
National Anthropological Archives
National Museum of the American Indian Archives
Peale Family Papers, National Portrait Gallery
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Smithsonian American Art Museum Slide and Photo Archives
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Smithsonian Photographic Services
Affiliated Organization: National Gallery of Art
750
9th Street, NW
Suite 8300
Washington, DC
Mailing
Address:
Peale Family Papers
National Portrait Gallery
P.O. Box 37012
Victor Building–Suite 8300 MRC973
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
202.275.1773
202.275.1887 fax
pealepapers@npg.si.edu
www.npg.si.edu/exh/peale/
index.htm
Hours
Monday – Friday
10am to 5pm
Appointment Recommended
Metro Stop: Gallery Place
The Peale
Family Papers project was organized in 1974 to collect, research, and
publish in microform and book editions the papers of Charles Willson Peale,
artist, naturalist, inventor, and founder of the first important museum
in North America, and his family of artists and naturalists. The papers
and research cover the period 1735 to 1885, emphasizing the history and
culture of the northeast region with particular attention to Philadelphia,
Baltimore, and New York. The staff provides research materials for the
use of scholars, the public, and Portrait Gallery staff, and answers questions
concerning portraits and art attributed to family members.
Highlights: The Peale Family Papers holdings contain photocopies of letters
and documents collected worldwide, including revolutionary and travel
diaries of Charles Willson Peale, his Museum records, and manuscript Autobiography.
Accession, financial, and other records of the Philadelphia Museum, the
Baltimore Museum, and the New York Museum provide information about the
early history of museums in the United States. Peale's diary covering
his participation in the battles of Princeton and Trenton during the American
Revolution and the occupation of Philadelphia by the British are particularly
detailed. Rembrandt Peale's writings on the mastodon, the artist's palette,
and his portraits of Washington provide important information about early
science and artistic practice. Titian Ramsay Peale's journals on the Long
(1819-20) and Wilkes (1837-42) Expeditions are informative, concerning
the exploration of the American West. Benjamin Franklin Peale's writings
on coins and medals and his report on the United States Mint are also
included.