# 1073 FDC - 1956 3¢ Benjamin Franklin
1956 3¢ Benjamin Franklin and Electricity
City: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Quantity: 129,384,550
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Perforations: 10 ½ x 11
Color: Bright carmine
Statesman, Inventor
Death Of Benjamin West
West was born on October 10, 1738, in Springfield, Province of Pennsylvania. The son of an innkeeper, West claimed that as a child he’d learned how to make paint by mixing clay and bear grease from Native Americans. West was generally self-taught when it came to painting and had little formal education.
In 1746, West began working as an artist, producing mostly portraits. A decade later he painted Death of Socrates based on a previous artist’s engraving for William Henry. Though it differed greatly from the original, it has been called “the most ambitious and interesting painting produced in colonial America.” The painting was also an important step in furthering West’s career.
In 1760, Smith and William Allen sponsored West on a “Grand Tour” to Italy. While there West met a number of noted artists and studied and painted the works of Italian masters. Three years later West went to England for what was supposed to be a brief stop before returning to America. However, he ended up buying a home there and never went back. In the coming years West grew in popularity in England and became known there as the “American Raphael.”
In 1783, West began a painting commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Paris. It pictures the American delegates, including John Adams. The British representatives refused to sit for the painting, because it represented their country’s loss of the Colonies. The painting was never completed, but was later used as the basis for U.S. #2052.
Benjamin West died at his London home on March 11, 1820.
Click here to view more West paintings.
1956 3¢ Benjamin Franklin and Electricity
City: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Quantity: 129,384,550
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Rotary Press
Perforations: 10 ½ x 11
Color: Bright carmine
Statesman, Inventor
Death Of Benjamin West
West was born on October 10, 1738, in Springfield, Province of Pennsylvania. The son of an innkeeper, West claimed that as a child he’d learned how to make paint by mixing clay and bear grease from Native Americans. West was generally self-taught when it came to painting and had little formal education.
In 1746, West began working as an artist, producing mostly portraits. A decade later he painted Death of Socrates based on a previous artist’s engraving for William Henry. Though it differed greatly from the original, it has been called “the most ambitious and interesting painting produced in colonial America.” The painting was also an important step in furthering West’s career.
In 1760, Smith and William Allen sponsored West on a “Grand Tour” to Italy. While there West met a number of noted artists and studied and painted the works of Italian masters. Three years later West went to England for what was supposed to be a brief stop before returning to America. However, he ended up buying a home there and never went back. In the coming years West grew in popularity in England and became known there as the “American Raphael.”
In 1783, West began a painting commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Paris. It pictures the American delegates, including John Adams. The British representatives refused to sit for the painting, because it represented their country’s loss of the Colonies. The painting was never completed, but was later used as the basis for U.S. #2052.
Benjamin West died at his London home on March 11, 1820.
Click here to view more West paintings.