One of the many artist descendants of Charles Willson Peale, Sarah Peale was born in Philadelphia and became one of America's first professional female artists and a leading portrait painter of her day. She also did still lifes. Her art career lasted nearly sixty years, and she supported herself financially and successfully competed with male painters of that time including John Wesley Jarvis, Thomas Sully, and Jacob Eichholtz.

Her father was James Peale, a brother of Charles Willson, and her family called her Sally. She took early art training from her uncle, Charles Willson Peale, in his studio in Washington D.C., and he, unlike her father, was a believer in the equality of women and encouraged her to pursue her talent. ...