Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) by Charles Wilson Peale, from life, 1791-1792

Oil on canvas painting of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) by Charles Willson Peale. Bust length, facing subject's right. Dark blue coat, yellow waistcoat, white stock and jabot. Auburn hair, blue eyes. Gray background. Listed in the 1795 Peale Museum Catalog and purchased by the City of Philadelphia at the 1854 Peale Museum sale. Among Peale's most outstanding museum portraits, this portrait demonstrates the artist's virtuosity in its easy transition between light and shadow, its definition of features with minimal outline, and its successful illusion of three-dimensional space. Unique to this work are details such as the delicate veining around Jefferson's eye, the subtle highlights on his lips and nose and the complementing shades of blue in the background, eyes, and coat. This is the only portrait of Jefferson that shows his natural auburn hair. This portrait also was the first likeness of Jefferson disseminated through prints. Copied as early as 1795, when William Birch displayed his artist's proof in the Columbianum exhibition, the print gave Americans a glimpse of their future president.