James Peale Sr. (Maryland/Pennsylvania, 1749-1831) watercolor portrait miniature of John Johnson Sr. (1770-1824), Attorney General and fourth Chancellor of Maryland. Johnson is depicted in a blue coat, white waistcoat, and white shirt with a white cravat, set against a light brown background. Incised signature and date to lower right corner, “I P 1802.” Entwined locks of hair together with gilt thread and pearls en verso under an oval glass opening. Housed in the original oval rose gold metal frame and retains the original red tooled leather storage case. Miniature sight measures: 2 5/8" H x 2 1/8" W. 

Biography: "Born in Chestertown, Maryland, James Peale worked in the saddlery of his older brother, Charles Willson Peale, in Annapolis, Maryland, and subsequently was apprenticed as a carpenter. When Charles returned from England in 1769 as a trained artist, James served as his studio assistant. By the spring of 1771 Charles had given him instruction in painting from life. James served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution and then settled in Philadelphia. Always somewhat in the shadow of his dynamic older brother, James Peale nonetheless became an accomplished painter of miniature portraits. When his eyesight began to fail, he gave up painting miniatures about 1810 and turned to larger portraits and still lifes, as well as landscapes in later years." (Source: The Smithsonian American Art Museum). 

PROVENANCE: Private Knoxville, TN collection, by family descent. The sitter is the consignor's fourth great-grandfather. 

Miniature is in very good condition, not examined out of the frame. Metal case with minor oxidation, leather case with rubbing and losses.