Benjamin Franklin
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.