Bust of Benjamin Franklin
Bust of Benjamin Franklin
- Collection ID
- STA.000024
- Type
- Statuary
- Date
- 1780
- Geography
- United States
- Language
- N/A
- Medium
- Alabaster
- Dimensions
- 14 × 7.5 × 5.75 in. (35.6 × 19.1 × 14.6 cm)
- Exhibit Location
- On View in the Bowden Gallery of Biblical Art, Impact of the Bible in the World
The late eighteenth century was marked by a craze for Greco-Roman antiquity and the neoclassical style, as seen in the architectural structures of early America. Busts like this one of Benjamin Franklin sought to depict historic American figures in the same manner as Roman emperors and statesmen. The use of alabaster is not only beautiful, but symbolic, as alabaster is often associated with clarity of mind and purity of spirit.
Created around 1780. Acquired by 2019 by Ted Steinbock, private collector, Louisville, Kentucky; Privately purchased in 2020 by Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
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