Negotiating the Peace with Great Britain

This painting, commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Paris, was originally composed to include all of the commissioners who negotiated the treaty;, however, the artist was unable to secure sittings with the British representatives. Because of their reluctance to sit, the painting depicts only the American negotiators: John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and Franklin's secretary, William Temple Franklin. It was painted by the American artist Benjamin West, who also trained Charles Willson Peale.