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Absalom Jones, 1810
Raphaelle Peale (1774-1825)
Oil on paper mounted to board,
30 x 25 inches
Delaware Art Museum, Gift of Absalom Jones School, 1971
Raphaelle Peale was the first son of the American painter Charles Willson Peale and one of a large number of artist-children born to that branch of the Peale family. While Raphaelle was perhaps most famous for his still-life paintings, his portraits are highly regarded. The Reverend Absalom Jones was the prominent black minister of the St. Thomas African Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. Born a slave in Sussex, Delaware, Jones eventually won his freedom, was a founding member of the Free African Society, was ordained the first black priest of the Episcopal denomination, and helped to organize a school for black children. |
