Anne Willing married up; money followed her. The daughter of the mayor of Philadelphia, the richest man in the colonial city, she married William Bingham, Senator from the State of Pennsylvania, a founder of the First Bank of North America and the richest man in America. Anne’s daughter married Alexander Baring, who was even richer than Bingham. Anne was a great beauty; she was the model for the “draped bust” image on the American silver dollar. And, she was a political force in her own right. A confidante of Thomas Jefferson, she described in a letter to him the influence women in Paris held. She praised their ability to “interfere in the politics of the Country, and often give a decided turn to the fate of empires.” Anne returned from Paris to host the most powerful partisan salon in Philadelphia, then the capital of United States. Her drawing room, a center for informal conversation and debate, attracted John Jay, Alexander Hamilton and even George Washington. *************************** Anne Willing Bingham by William Russell Birch (1755-1834) enamel on copper, circa 1795. In the magnificent collection of The American Wing, Metropolitan Museum of Art. @metamericanwing ************************** #PortraitMiniature #PortraitMiniatures #MiniaturePortrait #MiniaturePortraits #EnamelPortrait EnamelPortraitMiniature #HistoricArt #AmericanPortrait #elleshushan #AmericanPortraitMiniature #AnneWillingBingham #WilliamBingham #ThomasWilling #WilliamRussellBirch #MiniatureMonday https://www.instagram.com/p/BwApRnoHTry/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1b21jv06r2nmh
