Oil on Canvas Portrait of Stephen Girard c 1850

Stephen Girard came to the United States, and Philadelphia, around 1776, and became one of the wealthiest men in the nation. He was well-known for his philanthropy, and founded Girard College. During the War of 1812, Girard was responsible for saving the U.S. from financial collapse. Because of his sightless and deformed right eye, probably a birth defect, he would always have his left eye facing the artist on the rare occasions he would agree to sit for a portrait. Because of this reluctance, most paintings of him were done posthumously, as this one was.