Think of all the photographs of portraits of our Founding Fathers and folks of that period that you've seen reproduced in textbooks and elsewhere. We were surprised to find a lot of the ORIGINAL portraits here in Philadelphia in - of all places - the Second Bank building. (Architecture reminiscent of the Parthenon in Greece. Did you know there used to be a full-size replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee on the University campus?) (That lil' aside won't cost you a thing - just a memory from when I was about ten years old living in Nashville...)
Those aren't wrinkles on Fulton's face - that's just what happens to old, OLD paintings. Look at the SKILL that portrait painter had! You can even see the "five o'clock shadow" and a sparkle in his eye! Look at the shadow between his face and shirt collar in the lower right hand corner. Astonishing attention to detail! So cool! And there are some 200 original portraits right here.
I'm sure you recognize George Washington's long nose...
You may not recognize this fella by himself (look at that detail!), but how about the whole picture:
There are portraits of ladies:
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| And they talk about Texas women with big hair! |
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| Is this me? or Martha Washington? |
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| Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant |
And Indians (they weren't called Native Americans then). (Note: If you click on the picture it enlarges.)
This is another one of those screen prints. Can you make out the Indians? They must be coming to the gallery to get a peek at their chief. I love the screen prints. We'd be in a building focused on whatever artifact was being showcased, and suddenly I would notice another print. Wish I could have this one at home in our log cabin. How cool would that be?
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| There's Ben Franklin (He's everywhere in Philly) |
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| and John Paul Jones |
There are statues:
Mmmm. I could go on and on, but as I say, there are HUNDREDS of these items in this building. They are presented in a variety of formats and it is all beautifully done. Don't say, "It's just a bunch of old paintings" and pass up this building. It's well worth the trip inside. If you have young children, get them to start looking for items in the paintings that might catch their interest. Pretty soon they'll be studying the portraits themselves. And don't forget the Indians out the window...
Those aren't wrinkles on Fulton's face - that's just what happens to old, OLD paintings. Look at the SKILL that portrait painter had! You can even see the "five o'clock shadow" and a sparkle in his eye! Look at the shadow between his face and shirt collar in the lower right hand corner. Astonishing attention to detail! So cool! And there are some 200 original portraits right here.
I'm sure you recognize George Washington's long nose...
You may not recognize this fella by himself (look at that detail!), but how about the whole picture:
There are portraits of ladies:
This is another one of those screen prints. Can you make out the Indians? They must be coming to the gallery to get a peek at their chief. I love the screen prints. We'd be in a building focused on whatever artifact was being showcased, and suddenly I would notice another print. Wish I could have this one at home in our log cabin. How cool would that be?
Mmmm. I could go on and on, but as I say, there are HUNDREDS of these items in this building. They are presented in a variety of formats and it is all beautifully done. Don't say, "It's just a bunch of old paintings" and pass up this building. It's well worth the trip inside. If you have young children, get them to start looking for items in the paintings that might catch their interest. Pretty soon they'll be studying the portraits themselves. And don't forget the Indians out the window... 
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