From 1776 to 1785, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) served as minister to France, representing the newly independent United States. To secure much-needed assistance from the French, Franklin framed the Revolution as a fight for shared values of liberty and independence. Jean-Antoine Houdon, a leading portrait sculptor in Paris, suggested Franklin’s personality through his facial expression, which evokes the statesman’s lively intellect, his benevolent warmth, and even a sparkle of sly wit. Houdon first sculpted Franklin in clay and then made many copies in plaster. This bust was likely first owned by a German prince who refused to send troops to fight for the British in North America.