Peale+Family

The Peale family was sometimes referred to as the First family of American Art. Charles Willson Peale was one of the finest portrait painters in America. He also opened the first natural history museum in America in his house in the 1780s. His collection included mastodon bones, fossils, minerals, and preserved animals such as jackals, mongooses, and bison. He also had dozens of species of amphibians, birds, fish and insects.