The image depicts a portrait of a man from the chest up. He is positioned facing slightly to the left, with a direct, level gaze. The man has a distinguished face with a prominent forehead and a gentle expression. His hair is long and gray, curling slightly around the shoulders. He is wearing a red-brown coat with a fur-trimmed collar and a white cravat peeking from underneath. The background is a neutral dark tone, with an oval border framing the portrait against a lighter rectangle that fills the rest of the image. There is text below the image identifying the person as Benjamin Franklin, with additional text in a decorative script style.
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The image depicts a portrait of a man from the chest up. He is positioned facing slightly to the left, with a direct, level gaze. The man has a distinguished face with a prominent forehead and a gentle expression. His hair is long and gray, curling slightly around the shoulders. He is wearing a red-brown coat with a fur-trimmed collar and a white cravat peeking from underneath. The background is a neutral dark tone, with an oval border framing the portrait against a lighter rectangle that fills the rest of the image. There is text below the image identifying the person as Benjamin Franklin, with additional text in a decorative script style.

National Gallery of Art · Print

Benjamin Franklin

Jean-François Janinet and Joseph Siffred Duplessis

Date
1789
Medium
color aquatint
Dimensions
plate: 41 x 31.5 cm (16 1/8 x 12 3/8 in.) sheet: 46.5 x 33.3 cm (18 5/16 x 13 1/8 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
1955.4.19
Credit line
Gift of Mrs. W. Murray Crane
Time span
1776 to 1800
Department
CG-E

Subjects and terms

  • French
  • Costume
  • Portrait
  • Face
  • Man

NGA object ID 43339. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.