Le Duc de Liancourt

About this artwork

A staunch advocate of the French Revolution, Liancourt (1747-1827) was considered the French equivalent to Benjamin Franklin. He was part of Lafayette’s entourage, and became friends with George Washington, as both men were farmers interested in new agricultural techniques. Nancy Shippen, a prominent Philadelphian, recorded his remark on American democracy: “In the days of my power, under the ancient régime of France, I had fifty servants to wait upon me, but yet my coat was never as well b...

About the Artist

Charles Willson Peale · 1741–1827

Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827) was an American painter, museum founder, naturalist, and inventor who became the most important American portraitist of the Revolutionary era and a central figure in the cultural life of the young republic. Born in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, he initially trained as a saddler before turning to painting, studying briefly with John Singleton Copley in Boston and ...