Think that you may own a portrait of William Penn? We identify, appraise and issue Certificates of Authenticity (COA) for all portraits of William Penn.
William Penn, age 22, artist unknown
William Penn was founder and "Absolute Proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future U.S. state of Pennsylvania. He was known as an early champion of democracy and religious freedom and famous for his treaty with the Lenape Indians.
William Penn, unfinished portrait, artist unknown
William Penn is one of the founding fathers of the United States and the only one among them to have single-handedly created a democratic constitution and ruled a huge territory a century before 1776. Well ahead of his time, Penn wrote and urged for a Union of all the English colonies in what was to become the United States of America. The democratic principles that he set forth in the Pennsylvania Frame(s) of Government served as an inspiration for the United States Constitution. As a pacifist Quaker, Penn considered the problems of war and peace deeply, and included a plan for a United States of Europe, "European Dyet, Parliament or Estates," in his voluminous writings.
William Penn by Charles Willson Peale
It is said that the portrait of Penn at age 22 was the only one taken from life…however, the other portraits of the explorer as an older gentleman seem to be consistent. Penn came from an upper-class family (his father was a naval officer), so it is likely that there are many portraits of him in existence.
William Penn, Etching
Still wondering about a portrait in your family collection? Contact us... it could be a portrait of explorer William Penn.
