George Da Maduro Peixotto

Portrait of Hoyt Sherman 1903

George Da Maduro Peixotto
United States, 1859 – 1937
Portrait of Hoyt Sherman, 1903
On loan from the State Historical Museum of Iowa, Des Moines

Hoyt Sherman (1827 – 1904), the builder of this house that today contains the collection acquired by the Des Moines Women’s Club, was an early and prominent citizen of Iowa. Born in Ohio, Sherman moved to the new town of Des Moines in 1848, two years after Iowa became a state. He was a son of a distinguished family that included his brothers, Ohio Senator John Sherman and General William Tecumseh Sherman, a commander of Union forces in the Civil War. The young Hoyt quickly laid the foundations of his law, banking, and political career in the frontier town, also acting as the post master for Des Moines from 1849 to 1853; during the Civil War, President Lincoln appointed him paymaster for the Union troops. After the war, he was a founder of the Equitable Life Insurance Company here and in 1877, he built this grand house in an area that is known today as Sherman Hill.

Peixotto’s portrait of the pioneer businessman dates from the year before Sherman’s death, but shows him as a vigorous and vital figure. The liveliness and animation of Peixotto’s brushwork here and his engaging characterization of Sherman are qualities that brought the painter renown as portraitist; among his wealthy and famous subjects was President William McKinley. Like Sherman, Peixotto was also from a well-connected Ohio family. He studied in Paris and Dresden, winning medals for his work in both cities.

In addition to his artistic career, Peixotto was also involved in diplomatic negotiations and intrigues prior to World War I, such as his role in the Turco-Italian War of 1911-12, a conflict which ended with Italy occupying territory that had been held by the Ottoman Empire in what is today Libya. In the summer of 1912, the New York Times announced, “American May End War; …Peixotto Taking Part in the Mysterious Negotiations,” talks which also included Czarist Russia. By October, the Times headline was “American Brought Peace in Tripoli?” The article detailed Peixotto’s efforts and included the artist’s own assessment of his accomplishments: “Mr. Peixotto declares that the unofficial private efforts which occupied him since July did more to end the hostilities…than all the official diplomatic efforts….He says he is in possession of documentary evidence of this from Emperors, Kings, and Prime Ministers, and even from the Pope, whom, he says he also interviewed in the course of his peace peregrinations.”