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Catalog Data

Artist:
George Peter Alexander Healy, 15 Jul 1813 - 24 Jun 1894  Search this
Sitter:
George Peabody, 18 Feb 1795 - 4 Nov 1869  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
158cm x 101.5cm (62 3/16" x 39 15/16"), Accurate
Type:
Painting
Date:
c. 1854
Exhibition Label:
Born Danvers (now Peabody), Massachusetts
While touring the South in 1866, the London-based American financier George Peabody grew troubled by the depressed conditions he witnessed. Convinced that education was key to the region’s postwar recovery, he formed a plan for encouraging Southern states to develop public school systems. With a pledge of $2.1 million, he established the Peabody Education Fund “to promote and encourage the intellectual, moral, and industrial education of the destitute children of the Southern States.” Although Peabody intended to benefit Black and white students equally, virtually all Southern schools were racially segregated, and funds disproportionately went to whites-only schools.
The American artist George Peter Alexander Healy painted this portrait in London, where Peabody spent over thirty years accumulating a fortune as a merchant and financier. Considered the founder of modern philanthropy, Peabody donated much of his wealth to U.S. libraries, museums, and universities that still bear his name.
Nacido en Danvers (hoy Peabody), Massachusetts
En un viaje por el sur en 1866, George Peabody, financiero estadounidense radicado en Londres, quedó perturbado por la depresión económica que vio. Convencido de que la educación era clave para la recuperación de la región tras la guerra, formuló un plan para estimular a los estados sureños a desarrollar sistemas escolares públicos. Prometiendo aportar $2.1 millones, creó el Fondo Educativo Peabody “para fomentar la educación intelectual, moral e industrial de los niños indigentes en los estados sureños”. Aunque quería beneficiar por igual a estudiantes blancos y negros, casi todas las escuelas sureñas estaban segregadas, y los fondos terminaron mayormente en las escuelas para blancos.
El estadounidense George Peter Alexander Healy pintó este retrato en Londres, donde Peabody pasó más de 30 años haciendo fortuna en el comercio y las finanzas. Considerado el fundador de la filantropía moderna, Peabody donó mucho de su capital a bibliotecas, museos y universidades de EE.UU. que aún llevan su nombre.
Provenance:
(Childs Gallery, Inc., Boston); purchased 1968 NPG.
Topic:
Printed Material\Document  Search this
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Desk  Search this
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Muttonchops  Search this
George Peabody: Male  Search this
George Peabody: Business and Finance\Banking and Finance\Financier  Search this
George Peabody: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Railroad  Search this
George Peabody: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist  Search this
George Peabody: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant\Dry-goods merchant  Search this
George Peabody: Congressional Gold Medal  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.68.26
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition:
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View:
NPG, East Gallery 123
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm414444e45-6750-4cca-a75b-a065d8a1f188
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.68.26