Benjamin Franklin

Peale painted this work for inclusion in the portrait gallery of his museum in Independence Hall. At the time, Benjamin Franklin was President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. Peale first met Franklin in London during 1767; the two men found that they shared a passion for the natural sciences. In fact, Franklin donated a carcass of an angora cat to the artist's museum. Peale's collection of natural specimens and portraits of famous Americans is represented in The Artist in His Museum, also on view in this gallery.