Franklin & His Friends takes a new cross-disciplinary look at early American science through the lens of portraiture. Portraits by such accomplished American painters as Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, and Charles Willson Peale tell a unique story through imagery that defines not only likeness but also constructs the identity of the subject as a member of the larger community of science. Anchored by the figure - and portraits - of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), whose scientific reputation was universal within the Western republic of letters, this book also encompasses his scientific collegues, many of whom were his friends.