Maria Peale was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 painter, primarily of still-lifes. She was the daughter of James Peale

James Peale

James Peale was an American painter, best known for his miniature and still life paintings, and a younger brother of noted painter Charles Willson Peale....

, and the sister of Margaretta Angelica Peale

Margaretta Angelica Peale

Margaretta Angelica Peale was an American painter, one of the Peale family of artists. The daughter of James Peale, she was the sister of Sarah Miriam Peale, Anna Claypoole Peale, and Maria Peale. She was taught by her father, and painted primarily still-lifes, many of which were copies of his...

, Sarah Miriam Peale

Sarah Miriam Peale

Sarah Miriam Peale was an American portrait painter, one of the notable family of artists descended from the miniaturist and still-life painter James Peale, who was her father. She is noted as a portrait painter, mainly of politicians and military figures...

, and Anna Claypoole Peale

Anna Claypoole Peale

Anna Claypoole Peale was an American painter, specializing in portrait miniatures and still lifes....

, but unlike her sisters she never pursued an artistic career. She only exhibited one painting, a still-life of vegetables; currently unlocated, it was shown at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1811. No works by her are known to be extant, although a Still Life with Oranges, Pansies, and Liqueur has been tentatively ascribed to her. In the 1820s she and Margaretta assumed the responsibility of caring for their parents, freeing Anna and Sarah to pursue their careers.

Reference

• The Peale Family: Creation of a Legacy: 1770-1870. Lillian B. Miller, ed. Abbeville Press, 1996.