William Shippen (1792-1867) was two or three years old when James Peale painted this miniature of him. William was the older brother of Thomas Lee Shippen, whose miniature was also painted by Peale [see 1999.87.4]. William would go on to earn a medical degree, and in 1817 he married Mary Louise Shore. The miniature is inscribed to William and Mary Louiseās oldest niece, Jane Gray Wharton, from her mother.