Ben Franklin Bust: The True Story Behind the Most Famous Founding Father Portrait
Ben Franklin Bust: The True Story Behind the Most Famous Founding Father Portrait
The bust of Benjamin Franklin – with its balding head, bifocals, and knowing smile – is instantly recognisable as the face of American ingenuity. For over 240 years it has symbolised invention, diplomacy, and Enlightenment thinking.
The Original 1778 Portrait by Jean-Antoine Houdon
In 1778, during Franklin’s time as American minister to France, the great French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon was commissioned to create his portrait. Houdon took a life mask and produced the famous terracotta bust showing Franklin in simple clothing, without wig, and with a direct, intelligent gaze.[1]
This Houdon bust became the defining three-dimensional image of Franklin, reproduced across Europe and America.
The Iconic Joseph-Siffred Duplessis Painting (1778)
In the same year, French painter Joseph-Siffred Duplessis created what is perhaps the most reproduced portrait of Franklin – showing him in a red coat, with bifocals, balding head, and a calm, confident expression. This painting, commissioned for the French court, became the standard two-dimensional image of Franklin and the direct inspiration for our Acclaimed Figures bust.[2]
Key Features of the Authentic Franklin Portrait
- Balding head with long hair tied back – rejecting the formal wig
- Bifocals (invented by Franklin) subtly indicated
- Open collar and simple coat – symbol of republican simplicity
- Direct, confident gaze – the practical genius
The Most Important Museum Examples
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York – original 1778 Houdon terracotta
- National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C. – Duplessis painting (1778)
- Philadelphia Museum of Art – marble Houdon bust
- Louvre Museum, Paris – plaster cast from Houdon’s studio
Why These Portraits Became the Standard
Houdon’s bust shows Franklin in three dimensions, Duplessis’s painting captures the warmth and wit. Together they define the Franklin the world remembers – the approachable genius who charmed France and helped win the Revolution.
Ben Franklin Bust Replicas
Original Houdon terracottas and Duplessis paintings are priceless museum pieces. The most accurate modern replicas are now produced in hand-casted unsaturated resin – offering excellent detail retention and durability.
At Acclaimed Figures we use hand-casted unsaturated resin for every bust, ensuring lifelike features and long-lasting quality. Our Ben Franklin bust is directly inspired by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis’s famous 1778 painting, available in Antique Bronze or Stone White, 26.1 cm tall, on an engraved charcoal base with “Benjamin Franklin 1706–1790”.
→ View the Ben Franklin Bust Replica
