Skip to main content
Smithsonian main website

Search

Donate

EnglishEnglish
EnglishEnglishArabicArabicChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Simplified)FilipinoFilipinoFrenchFrenchGermanGermanHebrewHebrewHindiHindiItalianItalianJapaneseJapaneseKoreanKoreanPortuguesePortugueseRussianRussianSpanishSpanishSwahiliSwahili
Smithsonian sunburst Smithsonian National Postal Museum
  • Visit
    Visit
    • Location and Directions
    • Calendar of Events
    • Public Programs
    • Tours and Itineraries
    • Museum Highlights
    • Virtual Tour
    • Museum Shop
    • Information Desk
    • Reviews
    • Accessibility
    • Alerts
    Plan a Visit

    TEMPORARILY CLOSED
    Open every day (except December 25)
    10:00 am to 5:30 pm

    Admission is always free!

    2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
    Washington, DC 20002

    street map of Postal museum

    Learn more
  • Exhibitions
    Exhibitions
    • Current Exhibitions
    • Upcoming Exhibitions
    • Virtual Exhibitions
    • Past Exhibitions
    The museum's Atrium
  • Learn & Explore
    Learn & Explore
    • For Researchers
    • For Educators
    • Topical Reference Pages
    • Research Articles
    • Stamp Collecting
    • Social Media
    • Activities
    Front windows showing stamp images at night
  • Collections
    Collections
    • Search the Collection
    • Collection History
    • Collection Plan
    • Collection Projects
    • Object Donations
    • Object Loans
    • Digital Asset Collections
    • Rights and Reproductions
    • Preservation
    • Object Spotlight
    People in front of log post office building
  • About
    About
    • Support the Museum
    • History of the Museum
    • FAQs
    • Host an Event
    • Museum Councils
    • Philatelic Achievement Awards
    • Volunteering
    • Internships
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • Smithsonian Affiliations
    • Press
    • Meet Our Staff
    • Site Map
    Historic Lobby
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Collections
  • Search the Collection
  • Painting of Benjamin Franklin
Click to view social media share links

Painting of Benjamin Franklin

Object Details

Description
The oil painting of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) rendered by artist Charles Ayers Whipple is a copy of Joseph Siffred Duplessis’s famous life portrait of Franklin commissioned while Franklin was in Paris in 1779. This composition is similar to the portrait (museum id 0.23371.1) painted by artist Lloyd Branson that is also in National Postal Museum's collection.
Among his many enterprises, Benjamin Franklin had a long career with the post. Beginning in 1737, the ambitious printer became postmaster of Philadelphia for the British Crown, ensuring that he would receive reliable news, and receive it first. This allowed him to publish it first. In 1753 Franklin received the promotion to joint postmaster general for the American colonies with William Hunter. Franklin and Hunter instituted milestone markers and ordered post riders to travel by lantern light through the night, thus improving the mail's reliability and speed between Philadelphia and Boston as well as turning the first profit for the British Post in North America. However, as a result of his revolutionary political activities, the Crown dismissed Franklin from service as joint postmaster general in 1774. Not long after, his involvement with America’s postal system renewed, and he served as postmaster general under the Continental Congress from July 25, 1775, to November 7, 1776.
Reference:
http://npgportraits.si.edu/ (Accessed April 11, 2006)
Data Source
National Postal Museum
Date
1885-1911
Object number
0.283371.2
Depicts
Benjamin Franklin, American, 1706 - 1790
Artist
Charles Ayer Whipple, 1859 - 1928
Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, 1725 - 1802
Type
Art
Medium
canvas; wood; paint (oil)
Dimensions
Height x Width x Depth (framed): 42 × 36 × 2 in. (106.68 × 91.44 × 5.08 cm)
Place
United States of America
See more items in
National Postal Museum Collection
On View
Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum
Topic
The Gilded Age (1877-1920)
Postal Employees
Record ID
npm_0.283371.2
Usage
Not determined
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8ee78d804-ac26-43f2-94b3-bff9e7f49487
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

HomeSmithsonian National Postal Museum

Plan a Visit

TEMPORARILY CLOSED
Open every day (except December 25)
10:00 am to 5:30 pm

Admission is always free!

2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20002

street map of Postal museum

Learn more
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Press
  • Site Map
  • e-News
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Flickr

Have you signed up for our monthly e-newsletter?

Owney, the Railway Mail Service Mascot

Back to Top