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Rubens Peale, 1784-1865
Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Charles Willson Peale named his children after artists and scientists, so at his birth Rubens Peale joined his older brothers Raphaelle and Rembrandt. Unlike them, Rubens did not become an artist but followed the Peale family's other business: operating museums of art and science. Rubens was a good manager, helping his father run the famous Peale Museum in Philadelphia and taking sole charge of it in 1810. Later he would operate Peale Museums in Baltimore and New York.
This portrait by Rembrandt Peale emphasizes Rubens's eyeglasses (he was very near-sighted), as does his more famous 1801 painting, Rubens Peale with a Geranium (National Gallery of Art). Many of the Peales had poor eyesight and were interested in optometry.
Rembrandt Peale, 1807 |