Samuel Mifflin

Charles Willson Peale

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Samuel Mifflin (1724–1781), an affluent Philadelphia businessman, commissioned this portrait and its pendant (22.153.2) in 1777. An ardent patriot, he commanded three artillery battalions and served on Pennsylvania’s Council of Safety during the Revolutionary War. He also contributed a large sum to the fund established to equip George Washington’s army. This work shows the strong influence of John Singleton Copley. Like Copley, Peale conveyed an impression of importance by means of a sumptuous setting and a firm and frank presentation of the sitter’s portly person. The glimpse of sea and ship through the window alludes to Mifflin’s mercantile success.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art