Rembrandt Peale, born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1778, learned painting from his father Charles Willson Peale. At 17, he painted his first portrait of George Washington, the first of many he would do. He supported himself later by making copies of his Washington portraits and completed at least 79 replicas of his Patriae Pater portrait. In Europe, he learned the encaustic technique in Paris and studied old masters in the Louvre and Luxembourg Gallery. In 1812, he founded the Peale Museum in Baltimore to promote public education in the arts. In 1822, he moved to New York City and then to Boston in 1826. He eventually settled in Philadelphia in 1831 and passed away in 1860.
