Pieter Teyler van der Hulst was a wealthy Dutch Mennonite merchant and banker, who died childless, leaving a legacy of two million florins to the pursuit of religion, arts and science in his hometown,
Portrait of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, 1787, by Wybrand Hendriks (after a painting by Frans Decker, since lost). Pieter Teyler is portrayed both as a financier with his "Intrest Boek" -the "Interest Book" he used to track interest rates and outstanding loans- and also as a collector, with art albums in the background. The portrait hangs in the Smaller Boardroom in Teylers Foundation House.