Olivia Simes Morris

Olivia Simes Morris — James Peale. 1814.

Medium: Oil on canvas. Dimensions: 71.8 × 61 cm (28 3/4 × 24 in.).

Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

James Peale was a member of a prominent Philadelphia family of artists, brother of Charles Willson Peale and father of several accomplished female painters. Olivia Simes Morris was also a member of the city’s cultural elite, her husband having been a cofounder of the Columbianum, a short-lived artists’ association that Charles Willson Peale organized. Olivia Simes Morris is a sensitive portrayal of the sitter. Embellishments of lace and a richly colored embroidered shawl add notes of refinement to an otherwise restrained composition. James Peale practiced portraiture throughout his long career. In addition to oil portraits, he excelled at miniatures, delicate likenesses of watercolor on ivory.

Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.