Wakefield Museums and Castles

This portrait of Charles Waterton is a copy. The original work was by American artist and naturalist, Charles Wilson Peale. Peale painted the original in Philadelphia in 1824.

Waterton visited Peale after his fourth and final ‘wandering’ in South America. The painting is believed to be a gift from Peale to Waterton. Waterton had instructed Peale’s son in his special method of taxidermy (his specimens were hollow inside, not stuffed).

Waterton is pictured with two of the specimens he used: a black and red cotinga bird from South America and a cat's head. The cat's head is on top of a book entitled ‘Waterton’s Method’. This isn't actually the name of any of Waterton's books. Instead, it refers to his unique taxidermy technique.

Waterton is wearing formal clothes. He wears a black cravat, white shirt, yellow waistcoat and black, long tailed coat. This outfit resembles his school uniform at Stonyhurst College. He wore it for most of his life.

That is, apart from the cravat. He stopped wearing that after getting into a fight with a poacher and being strangled by his own cravat.

This copy of the artwork was commissioned by the Waterton family in the 1970s. The artist is unknown but believed to be a student at the Royal Academy of Art.

The portrait is on display in the A World of Good gallery at Wakefield Museum.

The original portrait is on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London.