Mary Jane Simes

Mary Jane Simes was an American portrait painter who worked in both oils and painted miniatures. She was born in Baltimore in 1807 and died in 1872. Mary Jane Simes is a member of the Peale family, an important lineage of artists and cultural workers in 18th and 19th century America. She is a descendant of Charles Willson Peale, who established one of the first museums of art and natural history in the United States.[2] Her aunts were Anna Claypoole Peale and Sarah Miriam Peale, who were known as miniaturists and oil painters, respectively.[3] Simes lived with her aunt Sarah during a portion of her childhood. Her career as an exhibiting artist ended upon marriage to John Floyd Yeats.[4]

Mary Jane Simes
Samuel and Mary Jane Simes.
Born1807
Baltimore, Maryland
Died1872
StyleOils, miniatures
Portrait of a Young Girl, 1825, by Mary Jane Simes. Watercolor on ivory. Subject is believed to be a member of the Peale family.[1]

Career

Simes grew up amongst artists, and little of her early education is known.[4] However, it is believed she was the only pupil of her aunt Anna, and she was important enough during her lifetime to be referenced in a compendium of women artists.[5][6] Simes exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts throughout her short career. Simes was active from 1825 to 1835. Her work can be seen at the Maryland Historical Society,[4] the Smithsonian Museum of American Art,[2] the Cincinnati Art Museum,[7] and the Cheekwood Museum of Art.[8] Her work has been included in 20th century surveys of American Antiquities at the Baltimore Museum of Art.[9]

References
  1. "Portrait of a Young Girl". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  2. "Mary Jane Simes". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  3. Wehle, Harry (1927). American Miniatures 1730-1850. Garden City, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 103–104.
  4. Museum., Cincinnati Art (2006). Perfect likeness : European and American portrait miniatures from the Cincinnati Art Museum. Aronson, Julie., Wieseman, Marjorie E. New Haven [Conn.]: Yale University Press. p. 287. ISBN 0300115806. OCLC 61169825.
  5. "Anna Claypoole Peale | National Museum of Women in the Arts". nmwa.org. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  6. Ellet, Elizabeth (1859). Women Artists in All Ages and Countries. New York: Harper Brothers. p. 293.
  7. "Cincinnati Art Museum: Explore the Collections of the Cincinnati Art Museum". Cincinnati Art Museum. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  8. "Miss Henson (2) - Simes". tnportraits.org. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  9. Menzie, Karol V. "BMA antiques show offers antique toys, Americana rarities". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2019-03-27.
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