Benjamin Franklin
Engraver James McArdell Irish
After Benjamin Wilson
Sitter Benjamin Franklin American
Not on view
This portrait of Benjamin Franklin emphasizes his research into electricity, showing him standing next to a chair and table supporting writing materials, with a glass globe near his shoulder. The subject wears a wig and plain coat, holds a book lettered "Electric Expts," turns his head toward the viewer and points to a landscape that centers on a bolt of lightning striking a distant village.