A constitutional monarchist and economist, Jacques Necker (1732-1804) served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was dismissed for making the budget of the monarchy public in 1781, but by 1788 the fiscal turmoil of the French state was in such disarray that he was called back to service. Sympathetic to the 3^rd estate, he was again dismissed on 11 July 1789, which led way to the storming on the Bastille. Panicked, Louis XVI and the assembly recalled Necker two days later.

Another Sèvres bust of Necker is the collection of Mount Vernon (see object no. W-2548), given as a gift to George Washington in 1790 by Charles Hector, Comte d'Estaing. The comte commanded the first French fleet to assist the Americans during the Revolution.