Benjamin Franklin
artist
Unknown
subject
Benjamin Franklin
(Boston, 1706 - 1790, Philadelphia)
Datelate 18th century
Place MadeUnited States, North America
MediumWatercolor on wove paper
Dimensions33.7 x 28.3 cm (13 1/4 x 11 1/8 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP17e28
eMuseum ID720183
EmbARK ObjectID12258
TMS Source ID1392
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryWhen 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.
BibliographyNotesGilbert 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)
Anthony Amore, "Forge Washington," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 29 June 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/forge-washington
Anthony Amore, "Forge Washington," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 29 June 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/forge-washington
ProvenanceNotesEntered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
