AFA 18th Anniversary

Titian was the fourth child of Charles and his second wife, Elizabeth DePeyster (1765–1804), and the namesake of his brother, pictured in the Staircase Group , who died of yellow fever in 1798. A naturalist, explorer, and contributor to the scientific and ethnographic collections of the Peale museums, he embarked on his first scientific expedition at eighteen. Ultimately, he joined expeditions in North America, Central and South America, and the South Pacific. His most remarkable legacy, however, was his study, collecting, propagation, and preservation of butterflies. Late in life, as he completed his three- volume manuscript on these insects and crafted boxes for their display, he also began to paint them. 3 In this delicate oil of exotic butterflies, Titian presents his specimens alive and partnering in flight across a luminous sky. It is a perfect union of artistry with the eye of the naturalist. 18th Anniversary 144 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com Titian Ramsay Peale II (1799–1885), Caligo Martia ( Butterflies ), 1878. Signed and dated, front, lower right, in brush and black ink: Titian R. Peale/March 1878; label on back of frame: CALIGO MARTIA./ A rare Butterfly from Porto Alegre, rio grande, Brazil./Painted from Nature for Miss Catherine Bohlen/By Titian R. Peale, March 1878. Oil on textured coated paper, 135⁄16 x 1013⁄16 inches. Gift of the McNeil Americana Collection (2009-18-7).