Humboldt’s 6-week visit in 1804 generated a network of connections that influenced American culture during this formative period. CW Peale escorted him around Philadelphia and then to DC, where he met President Thomas Jefferson. #WhoIsHumboldt #AHAATakeover @Humboldt2020 1/5

Their friendship helped foster America’s reliance on natural monuments to define our cultural identity. In his introductory letter to TJ, Humboldt mentioned their shared fascination with the mammoth skeleton presiding in Peale’s museum. 2/5

When Peale opened his “Mammoth Room,” 1802 became the year of the mammoth: there was a mammoth cheese, accompanied by a mammoth loaf of bread and a 9-lb. pickled beet, presented to Jefferson, the “mammoth chief.” #nancysiegel @NancySiegel 3/5

Before Humboldt returned to Europe, Peale hosted a dinner for him under this behemoth. This skeleton eventually became the centerpiece of this Humboldt exhibition: it was a symbol of the friendships between these men, and the scale and scope of America’s cultural ambitions. 4/5

Peale’s painting and his mastodon are reunited for the first time since the museum closed in 1847. Anna Marley escorted “himself” to SAAM. I’d like to think he’d be happy gazing upon his skeleton once again. #WhoIsHumboldt #AHAATakeover @Humboldt2020 #PAFA #HLMD 5/5