File:Benjamin Franklin by Joseph Duplessis 1778.jpg

Joseph Siffred Duplessis, 22 Sep 1725 - 1 Apr 1802 Sitter Benjamin Franklin, 17 Jan 1706 - 17 Apr 1790 Date c. 1785 Type Painting Medium Oil on canvas Dimensions Stretcher: 72.4 x 59.7 x 3.8cm (28 1/2 x 23 1/2 x 1 1/2") Frame: 92.7 x 80 x 8.3cm (36 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 3 1/4") Credit Line National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Object number NPG.87.43 Exhibition Label Born Boston, Massachusetts Benjamin Franklin, in his day the most famous American in the world, was renowned for his scientific accomplishments as much as for his political and diplomatic triumphs. Known as a "natural philosopher," as scientists were termed in the eighteenth century, Franklin was celebrated for his experiments with electricity, but he also conducted experiments in other areas and invented devices as varied as a stove and bifocal eyeglasses. He also reorganized and expanded the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia and was often the conduit for correspondence between Americans and Europeans who were studying botany, chemistry, physics, and other sciences. By the mid-1780s, when this portrait was created, Franklin was representing the new republic in France, where he was revered for his wit and scientific knowledge. Data Source National Portrait Gallery See more items in National Portrait Gallery Collection Exhibition American Origins On View NPG, East Gallery 150a Place