Your Guide to The Peale
Make the most of your time at The Peale with free audio guides and exhibition tours. Use Smartify, the all in one arts and culture platform, available on iOS, Android, and the web. It’s the easiest way to explore the museum and hear the stories behind the objects and architectural features in our museum.
There are two ways to use Smartify:
1. Download Smartify before or during your visit. Why download the app? The Smartify app has advanced bonus features and gives you the ability to dive even deeper into the museum’s fascinating stories. Download Smartify for Android version | Apple version
2. Simply use your camera. Scan the QR codes within the exhibition spaces to get more details about the objects as well as audio clips and accessible transcripts. Not every object in the building is “scannable” at this time, but we’re working on it!
You can also enjoy these audio guides at home on your desktop, laptop or mobile device. Just choose one of the tours below to get started.
Moses Williams: Cutter of Profiles
Learn the story of Moses Williams, an African American artist and trailblazer who is likely to have been the very first Black museum professional in the United States.
Male and Female Colored School No. 1
From 1878 to 1889, the Peale building was part of a “new” public school system in Baltimore to provide free education to African Americans in the city. The Peale building was known as “Male and Female Colored School No. 1.”
Tour of The Peale Museum with Aaron Henkin
The storied Peale Museum building was erected in 1814. It was the vision of American artist and inventor Rembrandt Peale, from the famed family of American painters. Since then, the building has lived many lives. Learn the stories of this American architectural landmark.
Peale Reproductions and Collections
The Peale is not a “collecting institution,” meaning we don’t care for historical objects, but we have many reproductions and facsimiles of notable artifacts. This includes a number of portraits by Peale family members as well as items that may currently be on display in temporary galleries.
To learn more about these “objects,” download the Smartify app. This will enable you to scan items within the museum that don’t have QR codes.
Give it a try with this portrait of Sarah Miriam Peale, located in the Peale Gallery just to the right of the main entryway!
