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Anne Green (circa 1720-1775)

Anne Green, one of a small number of women in the colonial printing trade, became publisher of the Maryland Gazette after the death of her husband in 1767. She was later appointed the official printer of documents for the colony of Maryland. This portrait, probably among the first that Charles Willson Peale painted after his return from London in 1769, seems to emphasize what her obituary characterized as her "mild and benevolent Disposition," rather than her professional qualities. However, closer inspection reveals that she is holding a copy of the Gazette, although it is partially obscured in shadow. The edition of the newspaper she holds announced Peale's return and also printed a notice about his portrait of William Pitt.

External Link: www.npg.si.edu

Source | Charles Willson Peale, Anne Green, 1769, oil on canvas, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; from National Portrait Gallery, A Brush With History, http://www.npg.si.edu/cexh/brush/index/portraits/green.htm
Creator | Charles Willson Peale
Item Type | Painting
Cite This document | Charles Willson Peale, “Anne Green (circa 1720-1775),” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed March 29, 2024, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/1017.

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