American Notes Washington

Charles Willson Peale named some of his children after artists and others after scientists. Taking his name very seriously, Rembrandt Peale grew up to be one of America's important early painters. Last week he also became the priciest. The National Gallery of Art paid $4.07 million for his Rubens Peale with a Geranium, an intimate portrait of his horticulturist younger brother. The previous record for an American work of art at auction: $2.75 million for Frederic Edwin Church's Icebergs.

Painted in 1801, Rubens set a standard for the informal portraiture that became an American trademark. Peale family lore has it that at age 17, Rubens planted the seeds of the geranium, supposedly the first one cultivated in the U.S. Said National Gallery Art Director J. Carter Brown: "It is the first truly American portrait by virtue of its celebration of a newfound confidence of Americans in their own capabilities." Brown called the work the "ideal first purchase" for a $55 million pool established for major acquisitions for the gallery. The painting was sold by Pauline Woolworth, of the variety-store family. She and her husband Norman bought Rubens in 1958 for a real five-and- dime price: less than $100,000.