Museum Collections
Luce Center
Apotheosis of Franklin
Object Number:
1944.159
Date:
1944
Medium:
Linen
Dimensions:
Overall: 41 1/2 x 37 in. ( 105.4 x 94 cm )
Marks:
printed: on banner held by Franklin: WHERE LIBERTY / DWELLS THERE IS / MY COUNTRY"
printed: on shield held by allegorical figure seated next to Washington: "AMERICAN / INDEPEND- / -ANCE. / 1776"
Description:
Linen printed textile fragment with the apotheosis of Benjamin Franklin depicted in green on white ground; additional figures include a personification of liberty standing next to Franklin and a female warrior holding a shield with thirteen stars floating in the air on his opposite side, George Washington standing upright in a chariot drawn by a pair of leopards and led by two Native Americans blowing trumpets and waving banners, and a pair of cupids holding between them an oval map showing the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern half of North America.
Gallery Label:
This textile fragment is a modern reproduction of an old pattern in the Society's collection (1937.514).
Credit Line:
Gift of John S. Kebabian
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.