Charles Waterton
- Artist: Charles Willson Peale
- Date: 1824
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 24 1/8 in. x 20 1/4 in. (613 mm x 514 mm)
- Portrays: Charles Waterton
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
In this portrait of Charles Waterton you see him seated against a muted background, hands folded neatly over his lap. The oil on canvas shows fine brushwork that gives his face a calm depth. To his right and left Peale has included two taxidermy specimens – a bright Guianan red cotinga bird and a preserved cat’s head – rendered with careful detail.
Waterton met the artist, Charles Willson Peale, while returning from South America in 1824. The painting was likely made as thanks for introducing Peale’s son Titian to these taxidermy techniques. Waterton’s methods of preserving specimens would later be passed on through John Edmonstone and eventually influence Charles Darwin.
See it in person
Charles Waterton is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
