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Richard Bache, 1737-1811
Richard Bache married Benjamin Franklin's only daughter, Sarah, in 1767, and the couple lived in Franklin's home. Although he was in debt at the time, which worried Franklin, Bache proved his mettle to his father-in-law when he became director of Robert Morris's Bank of North America. Bache was well known during the Revolutionary War, serving as postmaster general from 1776 to 1782. He also served on the Pennsylvania Board of War and helped lead the "conservative" movement, which overturned the "radical" Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776.
After Franklin's death, Sarah and Richard Bache traveled to England, where they met John Hoppner -- one of the most respected portraitists at the time -- through mutual friends. Hoppner, whose work was copied by American artists, including Rembrandt Peale and Thomas Sully, painted this portrait and a pendant of Sarah, which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
John Hoppner, 1792-93 |