Portrait by Artist to Come
QUICK FACTS
BORN:
c. 1773 at Shadwell, Albemarle County, Virginia
DIED:
1836 in Charlottesville, Virginia
PLACES TO VISIT
CONTENTS
CONNECTED TO:
| Jefferson, Thomas
Portrait by Artist to Come
CONNECTED TO:
| Jefferson, Thomas
Charles Willson Peale, despite his devotion to the taxonomic and contemplative majesty of the natural world, nevertheless loved novelties and used all sorts of amusements to attract customers to his museum. He eventually resorted to hiring a popular musical performer who played five different instruments simultaneously, using all parts of his body. Following Peale’s death the museum passed into the enterprising hands of P. T. Barnum, becoming part of his traveling circus — a romantic ending for an Enlightenment institution.