This watercolor image of Benjamin Franklin depicts his head and shoulders in a left profile. It is completed in shades of brown, tan, off-white and light pink on a medium brown background. There is a pale pink tinge to his light colored complexion and his gray hair is visible below his fur trimmed tan skullcap. His eyes and eyebrows are medium-light and he has a stern expression on his face as he stares into the distance. . He is dressed in a brown jacket and a white collared shirt with a small white tie at the neckline and small black buttons down the front.
American
Benjamin Franklin,
late 18th century
Watercolor on paper
,
30 x 24 cm (11 13/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Dimensions
30 x 24 cm (11 13/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
Display Media
Watercolor on paper
Web Commentary
When the United States observed the centennial of its founding in 1876, many Americans collected images of the “founding fathers” including Benjamin Franklin. Isabella was no exception, and she displayed this watercolor in the Short Gallery along side a portrait of Franklin’s friend, George Washington.
Permanent Gallery Location
Short Gallery
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 127. (as Benjamin Franklin by an unknown artist, probably late 18th century American or French)
Rights and reproductions
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When the United States observed the centennial of its founding in 1876, many Americans collected images of the “founding fathers” including Benjamin Franklin. Isabella was no exception, and she displayed this watercolor in the Short Gallery along side a portrait of Franklin’s friend, George Washington.