File:Arthur St. Clair.jpg

Summary[edit]

Charles Willson Peale: Portrait of Arthur St. Clair (1737-1818)
Artist	Charles Willson Peale  (1741–1827)     Description American portrait painter Date of birth/death 15 April 1741  22 February 1827  Location of birth/death St. Paul's Parish, Maryland Philadelphia Work location East coast of North America Authority file : Q454945 VIAF: 72190360 ISNI: 0000000082623463 ULAN: 500017914 LCCN: n80025860 NLA: 35413732 WorldCat creator QS:P170,Q454945
Title	Portrait of Arthur St. Clair
Object type	painting
Genre	portrait
Depicted people	Arthur St. Clair
Date	between 1782 and 1784 date QS:P,+1782-00-00T00:00:00Z/8,P1319,+1782-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,+1784-00-00T00:00:00Z/9
Medium	oil on canvas
Dimensions	height: 221.2 in (561.9 cm) ; width: 191.1 in (485.4 cm)  dimensions QS:P2048,+221.25U218593 dimensions QS:P2049,+191.125U218593
Collection	Independence National Historical Park    Native name Independence National Historical Park  Location Philadelphia , United States of America Coordinates 39° 56′ 52.08″ N, 75° 08′ 53.16″ W   Established 4 July 1956  Website www.nps.gov/inde/index.htm  Authority file : Q1190282 VIAF: 144028278 ISNI: 0000000122244370 ULAN: 500311131 LCCN: sh2009007255 OSM: 11115686 WorldCat institution QS:P195,Q1190282
Notes	Arthur St. Clair was born in Thurso, Caithness County, Scotland, on 23 March 1736 (old style); attended the University of Edinburgh briefly and later studied medicine under Dr. John Hunter in London; purchased a commission as ensign in Britain's 60th Royal American Regiment and served in Canada under Generals Jeffrey Amherst and James Wolfe, 1757-1759; married Phoebe Bayard of Boston, 1760; resigned his British commission, 1762, and purchased an estate in the Ligonier Valley of Pennsylvania, 1764; commanded Fort Ligonier, 1767-1769; was appointed surveyor of the Cumberland District, 1770; was designated by Governor William Penn as agent of colonial government in his region, 1771; was a justice of Westmoreland County court; served as secretary to a congressional committee at the Treaty of Pittsburgh, 1775; was commissioned colonel in the Pennsylvania militia, 1775, and in the Continental Army, 1776, commanded the 2d Pennsylvania Battalion in abortive operations in Canada; was appointed brigadier general, 1776, and served with Washington's forces in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, 1776-1777; was promoted to major general, 1777; was assigned to command of Fort Ticonderoga in June and abandoned it in July to a British investing force; was court-martialed and exonerated of blame for failing to hold the post, 1778; was present at the battle of Yorktown and served briefly with General Nathanael Greene in the South; left military service in 1783; was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, 1785-1787, and president of the Congress in 1787; was governor of the Northwest Territory 1787-1802, and administrator of Indian affairs there; was the senior officer of the United States Army, 4 March 1791-5 March 1792; led an expedition into Indian country and was disastrously defeated on the Wabash River, November 1791; resigned his commission in April 1792 and resumed the territorial governorship; was exonerated in a congressional inquiry from blame for the expedition's failure; was removed, for political reasons, as territorial governor by President Jefferson, 1802; died at his Ligonier Valley home on 31 August 1818.
Source/Photographer	Independence National Historical Park Collection in Philadelphia, PA

The Artist[edit]

Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) gained his initial experience in portraiture by using members of his family as subjects. As his talents expanded, he visited and developed patronage in New England, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as in London, England, finally settling in Philadelphia on the eve of active military service and the creation of his officer portrait gallery. By the close of the century he had painted many of the distinguished figures of the young nation, among them Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair who was completing his first military service in the Revolutionary War. The portrait is reproduced from the Independence National Historical Park Collection in Philadelphia.

Licensing[edit]

This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the United States Army Center of Military History, subject to the following qualification. Note: The images of all badges, insignia, decorations and medals on the "CMH Online" web site are produced by the United States Army Institute of Heraldry and protected by Title 18, United States Code, Section 704 and the Code of Federal Regulations (32 CFR, Part 507). Permission to use these images for commercial purposes must be obtained from The Institute of Heraldry prior to their use.

– US Army Center for Military History