Most people see a portrait of the nation’s first president every day, just by looking at a dollar bill. But not at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art.

When he was only 17, Rembrandt Peale painted an aging Washington, said Terry Oldham, the museum’s director. It was the last painting done while Washington was alive, Mr. Oldham said.

Mr. Peale used that portrait as one of the anchors of his career, copying the picture whenever an art patron wanted him to paint it again. The picture is one of the last paintings Mr. Peale did before dying in 1860, Mr. Oldham said.

One of the neat things about the picture is its “provenance,” a fancy word museums use to describe objects meandering through history. The purpose of a provenance is to deduce the time, place and person responsible for creating a painting or other object. Typically it traces the object from creation to the present.

Mr. Peale signed the back of the picture frame and wrote the name of his Boston customer, Mr. Oldham said.

Since 1970, this portrait has been part of the museum’s collection. Take a moment to drop in and view this piece of history and check out the new show that opened last Friday at the museum. For more information, see Friday’s St. Joe Live.

Each week, Property of the Past writer

Marshall White features a building or an item of St. Joseph history. If you have a home, building, special collection or an interesting piece of history that you’d like to see featured, please contact him at marshall@npgco.com.

***

Newspapers in Education

Last week, parents were asked to tell their children the history of a family heirloom. Children were asked to take notes and turn the oral history into a short essay. This week, family members can get together and check out how much detail has been recorded. This will be the objects’ provenance. Check out the definition of provenance on the Internet and then see if there are gaps in the history. Mention the gaps in the essay and see if there is a way to get more information. Families that think their object and essay are interesting can send the essay to Property of the Past. A couple of the best will be used in future columns.