Paul Beck, Jr.

In Thomas Sully's commanding portrait, Paul Beck Jr. engages the viewer directly, with the self-assuredness of a successful man at middle age. Beck was a wealthy Philadelphia wine merchant known for his philanthropy, which included cofounding the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. On the occasion of Beck's second marriage, Sully painted portraits of him and of his new wife Mary (hers hangs in the Dallas Museum of Art). Beck holds in his hands the gold snuffbox on view in the adjacent case (84.42). William Jackson, who gave the box to Beck, was an important political figure around the time of the Revolution, serving as secretary of war, secretary to the Constitutional Convention, and personal secretary to President George Washington. Beck was seen with the snuffbox often, and used it until his death.