(1741–1827), U.S. painter. The leading colonial portraitist, Charles Willson Peale completed many canvasses of George Washington and other prominent figures. He was born on April 15, 1741, in Queen Annes County, Md. After moving to Philadelphia, he served as a captain during the American Revolution before helping to establish a museum of natural history and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The father of Rembrandt Peale, he was famous also for his portraits of Martha Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Clay.