During the long residence in Europe of Mr. William H. Huntington he made a very large and valuable collection of works of art which have special reference to Washington, Lafayette and Franklin. This collection includes several hundred objects, statuettes and busts in bronze, pottery, porcelain, paintings, about 3000 prints and engravings, medallions and medals in various metals, and other articles. It forms as a whole a remarkable illustration of the tributes of art, other than great ornaments, to the character and achievements of the men whose memory America cherishes.
The portraits of Washington are well represented in the Museum’s collection of paintings, the Huntington Cabinet displays a number of others in miniature, engraving and print. There are also a number of medallions and prints of Benjamin Franklin, not all like the commonly accepted portrait which is followed on the United States postage stamp. As a curiosity mention should be made of a French porcelain statuette of Franklin, inscribed with the wrong legend “George Washington.”