Artist: Charles Willson Peale Place/date of birth: Queen Anne's County, Maryland 1741 Place/date of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1827 Title: Mordecai Gist Date of completion: ca. 1774 Materials: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 30 x 25 inches Collection: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Accession number: 1979.7.79 Introduction Like William Vassall, Mordecai Gist came from a wealthy and prominent family; however, Gist chose to join the side of the American colonies in the fight for independence. This portrait of Gist was painted before the Revolutionary War when Gist was a wealthy sea captain and merchant. The significance of the sea to the colonies and to the new American Republic cannot be overestimated; the ocean was the highway and link between the Old World and the New, bringing to America not only goods and people, but also ideas and styles from Europe. Shortly after this picture was painted, Gist became famous for his exploits as an officer in the Revolutionary Army, particularly at the battles of Long Island and Germantown. He began the war as colonel of a Baltimore regiment which he helped to form; by 1779 he was a brigadier general. Gist was so devoted to the cause of liberty that he named his sons Independence and States! Discussion Why might Gist have made the decision to support the cause of American liberty? For one thing, Gist made his living from trade with Europe and other colonies. The duties from the Navigation Acts and other English attempts at taxation were keenly felt by people in his line of work. Economic interest became a divisive factor between colonists who supported England, those who remained neutral, and those who advocated independence. Vassall may have profited from trade, but his income was largely derived from land holdings; he was therefore less affected directly by England's tax laws than was Gist and this may have been a factor in Vassall's ambivalence during the war. Even harder for the revolutionaries to understand, was the loyalty so many colonists felt towards England. While those who favored independence felt oppressed by England's rule, other colonists felt protected by England against the vast unknown lands of America beyond the frontier. Looking Closely The lace collar and cuffs Gist wears in his portrait, his gold-embroidered suit and hat, and the elaborately-carved chair in which he sits, would have informed eighteenth century viewers of Gist's success as a businessman. His connection to the sea is made evident by the dividers he holds in his hands, the sea chart on the table, the book of Euclid's Geometry, and the ship sailing toward the horizon. Gist's long black ponytail wrapped in silk was a hairstyle worn by high-ranking sailors of the period. One can imagine Gist walking down the street in the company of his merchant friends who were not sailors, easily distinguishable from them by his long ponytail. Clothing is still used today as a way of communicating a person's interests and allegiances (green hair, body piercing, and torn jeans worn today send very different messages than a gray pinstripe suit). In the eighteenth century the messages of clothes were much more specific -- so much so that most people never had to confront the issue of "what" to wear, only which suit of clothes. A person's social rank, wealth, and the nature of the occasion dictated particular clothing. Style The brown tones of this painting and the direct gaze of the sitter bear a resemblance to the style used by Copley in his portrait of William Vassall, but Peale did not convey the illusion of depth as convincingly as did Copley. Artist Charles Willson Peale was one of the most accomplished and versatile men of the early republic. An artist, naturalist, soldier and teacher, he was also the founder of one of the country's first museums. As a young man Peale was apprenticed to a saddle maker and by age twenty he advertised as a clock maker, silversmith, and sign painter. A group of supporters sent him to England in 1767 to study painting. Upon his return he earned a good living as a portraitist in his native Baltimore before moving to Philadelphia. Eventually Peale turned his portrait business over to his sons and brother and devoted his time to his museum. In this capacity he oversaw the excavation of the first nearly-complete mastodon skeleton in 1805. Links to American History Curriculum Chapter 11, Lesson 1: Forming a New Government, The Colonists Declare Independence Chapter 11, Lesson 1: "Making Decisions," Patriot or Loyalist? Chapter 11, Lesson 2: Fighting the War
SLIDE 7
MORDECAI GIST
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