Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827)

painted circa 1780.

old relining c. 1920; possibly original stretcher and frame
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A closely related work of the same subject was painted by Charles Willson Peale, recorded in Peale's own records as having been painted 1788-91.  It was catalogued by Charles Coleman Sellers in 1952, and was owned by Thomas Wilson Smith of Baltimore, a descendent of the sitter.  The Smith family gave this portrait of Mrs. Galbraith to the Baltimore Museum of Art.

The present example appears to be the same subject--slight difference in the position of the head and the inclusion of a fan.  The Peale Papers at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. reveals that Charles Willson Peale painted Mrs. Galbraith twice--he recorded two sets of payment, once in 1788-1789 and again in 1791. 

According to Sellers, Margaret was the daughter of Robert Buchanan (1697-1748), was born in Pennsylvania, c. 1736 and was probably married there.  When Peale knew her she was a widow, residing in Lovely Lane, in Baltimore.  She died in 1806. (Charles Coleman Sellers, Portraits by Charles Willson Peale, 1952)

The papers of Charles Willson Peale contain the following references to the first and second versions of the portrait of Mrs. Galbraith from October 27 to November 1, 1788 and again from January to May, 1789.  Lillian Miller notes "Margaret Buchanan Galbraith (ca. 1736-1806) daughter of Robert Buchanan was at this time a widow living in Baltimore.  She may have been the wife of William Galbraith, in 1777 captain of the town guard." (The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family, Vol. I & V, Lillian B. Miller, Editor, Yale, 1983, pp. 540-636).