Houdon, Jean-Antoine (French, 1741-1828)

Jean-Antoine Houdon was a French sculptor  who, working during the French Enlightenment, became well-known and celebrated for his portraiture. Included amongst his subjects were the philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, US presidents Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, King Louis XVI of France and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Houdon trained as a sculptor at the Royal Academy from 1752, winning the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1761 and subsequently working and studying there for ten years. He became a Royal Academician in 1771 and a professor in 1881. Since his death in 1828, his sculptures have been used as models for engravings of George Washington for many US postage stamps in the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries.