Thomas Willing
Charles Willson Peale American
Philadelphia-born Thomas Willing (1731–1821) partnered with British-born Robert Morris (1734–1806) to establish the mercantile firm Willing, Morris and Company in 1757. It became one of the most successful in Philadelphia, exporting flour, tobacco, and lumber to Europe, as well as importing sugar, rum, molasses, and—most abhorrently—enslaved laborers from the West Indies and Africa. Here, Peale depicted the merchant framed by a view of the Atlantic Ocean, the source of his wealth and status. Willing holds an emblem of his transatlantic trade and patriotism. Made of imported silver and tortoiseshell, the box—featuring a profile of his close friend George Washington— held snuff, a finely powdered tobacco that was one of Willing’s profitable exports.
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