Born in Baltimore in 1844, Franklin D. Briscoe moved with his family to Philadelphia where he studied with Thomas Moran in 1860 before traveling to Europe. During his time in Europe, Briscoe established himself as a masterful marine painter and made many extended ocean voyages where he found the subjectmatter for his works. Upon his return to the United States, Briscoe settled again in Philadelphia, establishing his studio there.

Briscoe exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Brooklyn Art Association. He also created a large, historical mural in 1885 that was in ten panels, a total of 230 feet long, and 13 feet tall entitled "The Battle of Gettysburg." A depiction of the sequences of the battle, it was exhibited throughout the country, and is now housed in the archives of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

Briscoe's work is in the Woodmere Art Museum, Smithsonian and Delaware Art Museum, among others.