Sarah M. Peale America's First Woman Artist

Practically every member of the Peale family contributed to America's early art and culture and Sarah Peale was the first woman artist to have made a living from her work. Having learned to paint from her renowned father, she painted several famous people, including Lafayette, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Hart Benson, and Daniel Webster. Sarah was a passionate woman bent on being successful as an artist. She was also a woman of strong passion with a will to love and to be in love. Though unmarried, she nevertheless loved her men—fiercely! As a respected artist in Baltimore and in Washington, Sarah can truly be considered America's first woman professional artist, her art work continuously being in demand during her days and now hanging on the walls of prominent American museums.