Tacy Shoemaker

Attributedattributed to Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741 - 1827)

Attributedpreviously attributed to Charles Bird King (American, 1785 - 1862)

Collections

American Paintings Selections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Date1818

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions30 1/8 × 25 1/8 in. (76.5 × 63.8 cm.) frame: 36 3/8 × 31 1/2 × 4 in. (92.4 × 80 × 10.2 cm.)

DescriptionPortrait of a woman with a sewing basket

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Lelia Canby Hughes, in memory of the estate of Charles Francis Saunders

Status

On view

Label TextTacy Shoemaker belonged to the Society of Friends, and the Quaker ideals of simplicity and plainness are reflected in her attire and activity. Although dressed in a fashionable gown with a high Empire waist, she wears no extra adornments and a neckerchief modestly covers her chest and neck. She appears to be "plain sewing"-making and mending everyday household items-which suggests her domesticity and industry, values considered appropriate for a Quaker woman. Peale most likely painted the portrait in 1818 in Washington, D.C., in honor of the sitter's second marriage.

This painting has been attributed to Charles Willson Peale on the basis of style and technique, written documents, and family lore. Hannah Moore, Peale's third wife, also was a Quaker from Washington D.C., and it is possible that she and Shoemaker knew each other. Peale portrayed his wife wearing a similar costume around 1816.

Object number98.1

Exhibitions

American Made: Selections from The Huntington's Early American Art Collections