Enthralled by the new science of natural history, a famous American painter establishes a museum in his home and organizes a scientific expedition to find and dig up a complete mammoth skeleton.
An eleven-year-old boy living in New York State joins the expedition of nineteenth-century artist and scientist Charles Willson Peale to dig for mammoth bones on a nearby farm.
Narrates the life of the early American portrait painter who established the first public picture gallery in America and who pursued numerous other interests including natural history.
Describes a reportedly true incident in which George Washington, visiting the natural history museum of his friend, early American portrait painter Charles Willson Peale, was fooled by a lifelike painting of two of Peale's sons climbing a staircase.
Briefly surveys the life of the early American portrait painter and describes an incident in which George Washington, visiting his natural history museum, was fooled by a lifelike painting of two of Peale's sons climbing a staircase.
With the help of his son Rubens, the famous painter Charles Willson Peale finds a way to transport his natural history treasures to a new museum in Philadelphia's Philosophical Hall.