William Flintham

Maker James Peale (American, 1749 - 1831)

Collections

American Paintings Selections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1805

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 33 × 28 1/4 in. (83.8 × 71.8 cm.) frame: 44 1/4 × 36 1/4 × 2 7/8 in. (112.4 × 92.1 × 7.3 cm.)

Signedl.r.: J Peale/ 1805

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Mrs. Susan Flintham Smith

Status

Not on view

Label TextFor most of his career, James Peale specialized in painting miniature portraits in watercolor on ivory panels. The exacting skills he developed as a miniaturist are evident in the intricate folds of William Flintham's starched white shirt and fan-like cravat. James Peale, like his older brother Charles Willson Peale and nephew Charles Peale Polk (both of whose portraits of Washington can be seen elsewhere in this building), tended to use crisp lines to delineate form, rather than creating three-dimensional effects through the contrast of light and dark.

William Flintham was a cooper and flaxseed merchant who had his workshop on Philadelphia's Vine Street wharf. At the time Peale portrayed him, Flintham had become prosperous through trade with Ireland and had recently married for the second time. Flintham may have commissioned Peale to paint his portrait to commemorate his business success, his marriage, or both.

Object number51.14