Figure of William Penn

Currently not on view

Figure of William Penn

Date unknown

Artist/maker unknown, American

The most familiar image of William Penn is derived from Benjamin West's 1771-72 painting William Penn's Treaty with the Indians. Although the historical event took place one hundred years earlier, West's depiction showed him as a portly figure in mid-eighteenth-century rather than seventeenth-century dress. Subsequent artists followed this precedent, including Henry Inman when he was commissioned in 1832 to paint a monumental portrait of Penn for Philadelphia's Independence Hall. Inman's image was widely circulated through engravings, and one of these served as the inspiration for this carved figure. As in the Inman portrait, Penn is shown holding the charter of his colony and wearing a hat, a sign of the Quakers' refusal to acknowledge any social hierarchy.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Figure of William Penn

Date:

Date unknown

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, American

Medium:

Black walnut

Dimensions:

21 1/16 inches (53.5 cm) Base: 6 5/8 x 7 1/4 inches (16.8 x 18.4 cm)

Classification:

Sculpture

Credit Line:

Gift of J. Stogdell Stokes, 1938

Accession Number:

1938-1-1

Geography:

Made in United States, North and Central America

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Currently not on view