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Margaret Baker Briscoe (Mrs. Gerard Briscoe), by Charles Peale Polk, c. 1799. Oil on canvas. 36 7/32 x 26 1/4 in. (92.0 x 66.7 cm). Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1981-14-1.
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Colonel Gerard Briscoe, by Charles Peale Polk, c. 1799. Oil on canvas. 36 19/64 x 26 17/32 in. (92.2 x 67.4 cm.) Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1981-14-2.
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Susan Lawson Buchanan (Mrs. Andrew Buchanan), by Charles Peale Polk, 1790s. Oil on canvas. 26 49/64 x 22 11/64 in. (68.0 x 56.3 cm.) Maryland Historical Society, Accession: xx-4-222.
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Medium/Discipline: Painting
Birthplace: Virginia
Maryland Affiliation: Active while in residence
Prominent Theme: Portraits
Active Dates and Place: 1790s, Baltimore
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Biography: Charles Peale Polk was the nephew of Charles Willson Peale; Charles Peale Polk was the son of Charles Willson's sister, Elizabeth Digby Peale Polk. Charles Peale Polk, bornin Virginia, was sent to Philadelphia to study art with his uncle at the age of eight. In 1785, Polk in his early 20s advertised in Baltimore newspapers as a portrait artist. Because of his return to Philadelphia in 1787 where he advertised his services as a house and sign painter, it can be surmised that he was none too successful as an artist. Nonetheless, he tried until 1800 to succeed as an artist: he opened exhibit rooms in Baltimore to display his art and in 1793 attempted to start a drawing school at his home. In 1800, however, he moved on to Washington where he held a government office. Scholars have suggested that Charles Peale Polk May have taught Joshua Johnson, one of few African-American artists active in portraiture during the 19th Century.
Taught By: his uncle, Charles Willson Peale
Selected References: Pleasants, J. Hall. Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Maryland (Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art), 1945.
Maryland Institutions Holding Artworks: Baltimore Museum of Art; Maryland Historical Society
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