Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a
British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as ''
The Death of Nelson'', ''
The Death of General Wolfe
''The Death of General Wolfe'' is a 1770 painting by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West, commemorating the 1759 Battle of Quebec, where General James Wolfe died at the moment of victory. The painting, containing vivid suggestions of martyrdom, ...
'', the ''
Treaty of Paris'', and ''
Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky''.
Entirely self-taught, West soon gained valuable patronage and toured Europe, eventually settling in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. He impressed
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
and was largely responsible for the launch of the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
, of which he became the second president (after
Sir Joshua Reynolds). He was appointed historical painter to the court and
Surveyor of the King's Pictures
The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by ...
.
West also painted religious subjects, as in his huge work ''The Preservation of St Paul after a Shipwreck at Malta'', at the Chapel of St Peter and St Paul at the
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding ...
in Greenwich, and ''Christ Healing the Sick'', presented to the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
.
Early life
West was born in
Springfield, Pennsylvania Springfield Township, Pennsylvania may refer to:
*Springfield Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania
*Springfield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
*Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
*Springfield Township, Erie County, Pennsyl ...
, in
a house that is now in the borough of
Swarthmore on the campus of
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...
. He was the tenth child of an innkeeper and his wife. The family later moved to
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017.
History
The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...
, where his father was the proprietor of the
Square Tavern
Square Tavern, also known as the John West House, The Square, and Newtown Square Tavern, is a historic tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roa ...
, still standing in that town.
West told the novelist
John Galt
John Galt () is a character in Ayn Rand's novel ''Atlas Shrugged'' (1957). Although he is not identified by name until the last third of the novel, he is the object of its often-repeated question "Who is John Galt?" and of the quest to discover ...
, with whom, late in his life, he collaborated on a memoir, ''The Life and Studies of Benjamin West'' (1816, 1820), that, when he was a child,
Native Americans showed him how to make paint by mixing some clay from the river bank with bear grease in a pot. West was an
autodidact
Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...
; while excelling at the arts, "he had little
ormal
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional univ ...
education and, even when president of the Royal Academy, could scarcely spell". One day, his mother left him alone with his little sister Sally. Benjamin discovered some bottles of ink and began to paint Sally's portrait. When his mother came home, she noticed the painting, picked it up and said, “Why, it's Sally!” and kissed him. Later, he noted, "My mother's kiss made me a painter."
From 1746 to 1759, West worked in Pennsylvania, mostly painting portraits. While West was in
Lancaster in 1756, his patron, a gunsmith named
William Henry, encouraged him to paint a ''Death of Socrates'' based on an engraving in
Charles Rollin
Charles Rollin (January 30, 1661 in Paris - December 14, 1741 in Paris) was a French historian and educator, whose popularity in his time combined with becoming forgotten by later generations makes him an epithet, applied to historians such as ...
's ''Ancient History.'' His resulting composition, which significantly differs from the source, has been called "the most ambitious and interesting painting produced in colonial America".
Dr William Smith, then the
provost of the
College of Philadelphia
The Academy and College of Philadelphia (1749-1791) was a boys' school and men's college in Philadelphia, Colony of Pennsylvania.
Founded in 1749 by a group of local notables that included Benjamin Franklin, the Academy of Philadelphia began as ...
, saw the painting in Henry's house and decided to become West's patron, offering him education and, more importantly, connections with wealthy and politically connected Pennsylvanians. During this time West met
John Wollaston, a famous painter who had immigrated from London. West learned Wollaston's techniques for painting the shimmer of silk and satin, and also adopted some of "his mannerisms, the most prominent of which was to give all his subjects large almond-shaped eyes, which clients thought very chic".
West was a close friend of
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
, whose portrait he painted. Franklin was the godfather of West's second son, Benjamin.
Italian "Grand Tour"
Sponsored by Smith and
William Allen, then reputed to be the wealthiest man in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
, West traveled to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in 1760 in the company of the Scot William Patoun, a painter who later became an art collector. In common with many artists, architects, and lovers of the fine arts at that time he conducted a
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
. West expanded his repertoire by copying works of Italian painters such as
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
and
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
direct from the originals.
In Rome he met a number of international
neo-classical artists including German-born
Anton Rafael Mengs
Anton Raphael Mengs (22 March 1728 – 29 June 1779) was a German painter, active in Dresden, Rome, and Madrid, who while painting in the Rococo period of the mid-18th century became one of the precursors to Neoclassical painting, which replace ...
, Scottish
Gavin Hamilton, and Austrian
Angelica Kauffman
Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, K ...
.
England
In August 1763, West arrived in England,
[Galt, vol. 2, p. 1] on what he initially intended as a visit on his way back to America.
[ In fact, he never returned to America. He stayed for a month at Bath with William Allen, who was also in the country, and visited his half-brother Thomas West at ]Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
at the urging of his father. In London he was introduced to Richard Wilson and his student Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...
. He moved into a house in Bedford Street, Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
. The first picture he painted in England, ''Angelica and Medora'', along with a portrait of General Robert Monckton, and his ''Cymon and Iphigenia'', painted in Rome, were shown at the exhibition in Spring Gardens in 1764.
In 1765 he married Elizabeth Shewell, an American to whom he became engaged in Philadelphia, at St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
.[
Dr Markham, then Headmaster of ]Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
, introduced West to Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
, Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
, Thomas Newton, Bishop of Bristol, James Johnson, Bishop of Worcester, and Robert Hay Drummond
Robert Hay (10 November 1711 – 10 December 1776), known later as Robert Hay-Drummond of Cromlix and Innerpeffray, was successively Bishop of St Asaph, Bishop of Salisbury, and, from 1761 until his death, Archbishop of York.
Origins and birth ...
, Archbishop of York. All three prelates commissioned work from him. In 1766 West proposed a scheme to decorate St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
with paintings. It was rejected by the Bishop of London, but his idea of painting an altarpiece for St Stephen Walbrook was accepted.[ At around this time he also received acclaim for his classical subjects, such as ''Orestes and Pylades'' and ''The Continence of Scipio''.][Galt, p. 15]
Benjamin West was known in England as the "American Raphael". His Raphaelesque painting of ''Archangel Michael Binding the Devil'' is in the collection of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
. He said that "Art is the representation of human beauty, ideally perfect in design, graceful and noble in attitude."
Royal patronage
Drummond tried to raise subscriptions to fund an annuity for West, so that he could give up portraiture and devote himself entirely to more ambitious compositions. Having failed in this, he tried—with greater success—to convince King George III to patronise West. West was soon on good terms with the king, and the two men conducted long discussions on the state of art in England, including the idea of the establishment of a Royal Academy. The academy came into being in 1768, with West one of the primary leaders of an opposition group formed out of the existing Society of Artists of Great Britain
The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established P ...
; Joshua Reynolds was its first president. In the same year, he was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
. In a story related by Henry Angelo
Henry Charles William Angelo (1756–1835) was an English memoirist and fencing master, as a member of the Angelo family of fencers and son of the Italian master, Domenico Angelo.
As the leader of his father's Angelo School of Arms fro ...
I (1756–1835) in his book of reminiscences, the actor David Garrick
David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...
, who was a friend of Angelo's father, the Italian sword master Domenico Angelo
Domenico Angelo (1717 Leghorn, Italy – 1802, Twickenham, England), was an Italian sword and fencing master, also known as Angelo Domenico Malevolti Tremamondo. The son of a merchant, he was the founder of the Angelo Family of fencers. He has ...
, memorably sketched for the teenaged Henry the following exchange: one day the painter Francesco Zuccarelli
Giacomo Francesco Zuccarelli (commonly known as Francesco Zuccarelli, ; 15 August 1702 – 30 December 1788) RA, was an Italian artist of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He is considered to be the most important landscape painter to hav ...
, on one of his visits to Domenico, got into a dispute with his fellow royal academician Johan Zoffany
Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, includin ...
about the merit of West's 1769 painting ''The Departure of Regulus'', his first commission for the king. Zuccarelli exclaimed, "Here is a painter who promises to rival Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...
", while Zoffany tauntingly replied, "A figo for Poussin, West has already beaten him out of the field."
In 1772, King George appointed him historical painter to the court at an annual fee of £1,000.[ He painted a series of eight large canvases showing episodes from the life of ]Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
for St George's Hall at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history.
The original cast ...
, and proposed a cycle of 36 works on the theme of "the progress of revealed religion" for a chapel at the castle, of which 28 were eventually executed.[ The largest group of paintings (seven) from the series is currently in Greenville, SC. He also painted nine portraits of members of the royal family,][ including two of the king himself. He was Surveyor of the King's Pictures from 1791 until his death.
]
''The Death of General Wolfe''
West painted his most famous, and possibly most influential painting, ''The Death of General Wolfe
''The Death of General Wolfe'' is a 1770 painting by Anglo-American artist Benjamin West, commemorating the 1759 Battle of Quebec, where General James Wolfe died at the moment of victory. The painting, containing vivid suggestions of martyrdom, ...
'', in 1770 and it exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1771. The painting became one of the most frequently reproduced images of the period. It returned to the French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
setting of his '' General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian'' of 1768. When the American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
broke out in 1776 he remained ambivalent, and neither spoke out for or against the Revolutionary War in his land of birth.
West became known for his large scale history painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
s, which use expressive figures, colours and compositional schemes to help the spectator to identify with the scene represented. West called this " epic representation". His 1778 work '' The Battle of the Boyne'' portrayed William of Orange's victory at the Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...
in 1690, and strongly influenced subsequent images of William. In 1806 he produced '' The Death of Nelson'', to commemorate Horatio Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
's death at the Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
.
Later religious painting
St Paul's Church, in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, has an important enamelled stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
east window made in 1791 by Francis Eginton
Francis Eginton (1737–1805), sometimes spelled Egginton, was an English glass painter. He painted windows for cathedrals, churches, chapels and stately homes, etc., around the country, leaving 50 large works altogether; his work was also expo ...
, modelled on an altarpiece
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...
painted c. 1786 by West, now in the Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...
. It shows the Conversion of Paul
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1791.
West is also well known for his huge work in the Chapel of St Peter and St Paul which now forms part of the Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding ...
in Greenwich, London. His work, ''The Preservation of St Paul after a Shipwreck at Malta'', measures and illustrates the Acts of the Apostles: 27 & 28. West also provided the designs for the other paintings executed by Biagio Rebecca
Biagio Rebecca (1731–1808) was an Italian artist, active mainly as a decorative painter in England.
Life
Rebecca was born at Osimo, near Ancona, in the Marches, and served his apprenticeship in Rome.
In England he became known for neoclassi ...
in the chapel.
Following a loss of royal patronage at the beginning of the 19th century, West began a series of large-scale religious works. The first, ''Christ Healing the Sick'' was originally intended as a gift to Pennsylvania Hospital
Pennsylvania Hospital is a private, non-profit, 515-bed teaching hospital located in Center City Philadelphia and is part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Founded on May 11, 1751, by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond, Pennsylv ...
in Philadelphia; instead he sold it to the British Institution for £3,000, which in turn presented it to the National Gallery.[ West then made a copy to send to Philadelphia. The success of the picture led him to paint a series of even larger works, including his '' Death on the Pale Horse'', exhibited in 1817.]
Royal Academy
Though initially snubbed by Sir Joshua Reynolds, founding President of the Royal Academy, and by some other Academicians who felt he was over-ambitious, West was elected President of the Royal Academy on the death of Reynolds in 1792. He resigned in 1805, to be replaced by a fierce rival, architect James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
. However West was again elected president the following year, and served until his death.
Pupils
Many American artists studied under him in London, including Ralph Earl
Ralph Earl (May 11, 1751 – August 16, 1801) was an American painter known for his portraits, of which at least 183 can be documented. He also painted six landscapes, including a panorama display of Niagara Falls.
Early life
Ralph Ea ...
and later his son, Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl
Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl (born 1785–1788; died Nashville, Tennessee September 16, 1838), also known as Ralph E. W. Earl or Ralph Eleazer Whiteside Earl, was an American painter known as the "court painter" to President Andrew Jackson. He also ...
, Samuel Morse
Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...
, Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...
, Charles Willson Peale
Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American Painting, painter, soldier, scientist, inventor, politician and naturalist. He is best remembered for his portrait paintings of leading figures of the American Revolu ...
, Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale (February 22, 1778 – October 3, 1860) was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Peale's style w ...
, Matthew Pratt
Matthew Pratt (September 23, 1734 – January 9, 1805) was an American "Colonial Era" artist famous for his portraits of American men and women. He was born in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania to goldsmith Henry Pratt, (1708–1748) and R ...
, Gilbert Stuart
Gilbert Charles Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter from Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washi ...
, John Trumbull
John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...
, Washington Allston
Washington Allston (November 5, 1779 – July 9, 1843) was an American painter and poet, born in Waccamaw Parish, South Carolina. Allston pioneered America's Romantic movement of landscape painting. He was well known during his lifetime for ...
, Thomas Sully
Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was a portrait painter in the United States. Born in Great Britain, he lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence. His subjects included nationa ...
, John Green
John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube Content creation, content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' ( ...
, and Abraham Delanoy.
Death
West died at his house in Newman Street, London, on March 11, 1820, and was buried in St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
. He had been offered a knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
hood by the British Crown, but declined it, believing that he should instead be made a peer.
Gallery
File:Robert Moncton Martinique.jpg, ''Robert Monckton
Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was an officer of the British Army and colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General J ...
'', 1762
File:Benjamin West - Mary Hopkinson - 1926.6.1 - Smithsonian American Art Museum.jpg, ''Mrs Mary (Hopkinson) Morgan'', 1764
File:Benjamin West - Pylades and Orestes Brought as Victims before Iphigenia - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Pylades
In Greek mythology, Pylades (; Ancient Greek: Πυλάδης) was a Phocian prince as the son of King Strophius and Anaxibia who is the daughter of Atreus and sister of Agamemnon and Menelaus. He is mostly known for his relationship with his cous ...
and Orestes
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
Brought as Victims before Iphigenia
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae.
In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...
'', 1766
File:Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West.jpg, '' Penn's Treaty with the Indians'', 1772
File:Benjamin West - Isaac's servant tying the bracelet on Rebecca's arm - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Isaac's Servant Tying the Bracelet on Rebecca's Arm'', 1775
File:1777, West, Benjamin, Two Officers and a Groom in a Landscape.jpg, ''Two Officers and a Groom in a Landscape'', 1777, Princeton University Art Museum
The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works o ...
File:Benjamin West, The Battle of La Hogue, c. 1778, NGA 45885.jpg, ''The Battle of La Hogue'', c. 1778, National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...
File:Treaty of Paris by Benjamin West 1783.jpg, '' Treaty of Paris'' depicts the American delegation at the 1783 Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed, 1783–1784.
File:Dr Richard Price, DD, FRS - Benjamin West.jpg, Welsh moral philosopher Richard Price
Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...
, 1784
File:Benjamin West - Alexander III of Scotland Rescued from the Fury of a Stag by the Intrepidity of Colin Fitzgerald ('The Death of the Stag') - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Death of a Stag'' or ''Alexander III of Scotland Rescued from the Fury of a Stag by the Intrepidity of Colin Fitzgerald'', 1786
File:King Lear and Cordelia (West, 1793).jpg, ''King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
and Cordelia'', 1793
File:1797, West, Benjamin, The Woman Clothed with the Sun Fleeth from the Persecution of the Dragon.jpg, '' The Woman Clothed with the Sun Fleeth from the Persecution of the Dragon'', c. 1797, Princeton University Art Museum
The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works o ...
File:Benjamin West - Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant'', 1800
File:Benjamin West - Cupid and Psyche - 2010.44 - Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.jpg, ''Cupid and Psyche
Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyc ...
'', 1808
File:Benjamin west omnia vincit amor 1809.jpg, ''Omnia Vincit Amor'', 1809
File:Benjamin West - John Eardley Wilmot - Google Art Project.jpg, ''John Eardley Wilmot
Sir John Eardley Wilmot PC SL (16 August 17095 February 1792), was an English judge, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1766 to 1771.
Family and early life
Wilmot was the second son of Robert Wilmot (1669–1738), of Osmaston Hall, near ...
'', 1812
File:Shah 'Alam conveying the grant of the Diwani to Lord Clive.jpg, ''The signing of the Treaty of Allahabad, 1765, between the British Governor of Bengal Robert Clive and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam'', 1818, British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
File:Benjamin West - Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Self-Portrait'', 1819
Works
* ''John Sedley''
view
* ''Portrait of a Gentleman''
view
* ''Presentation of the Queen of Sheba at the Court of King Solomon''
view
* ''The Envoys Returning from the Promised Land''
view
Sources
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* Reprinted in ''America's Old Masters'' (New York, 1967), pp. 315–40.
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References
External links
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Overview of an archival collection on Benjamin West.
Loyd Grossman talking about West's work
Union List of Artist Names, Getty Vocabularies.
ULAN Full Record Display for Benjamin West. Getty Vocabulary Program, Getty Research Institute
The Getty Research Institute (GRI), located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts". . Los Angeles, California.
* Th
Benjamin West Drawings Collection
including 33 of his drawings and sketches, is available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...
.
Documenting the Gilded Age: New York City Exhibitions at the Turn of the 20th Century
. A New York Art Resources Consortium The New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) consists of the research libraries of three leading art museums in New York City: The Brooklyn Museum, The Frick Collection, and The Museum of Modern Art. With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio ...
project. Annotations and a pencil sketch of a West painting in an exhibition catalog.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Benjamin
18th-century American painters
18th-century American male artists
American male painters
19th-century American painters
18th-century English painters
English male painters
19th-century English painters
Royal Academicians
1738 births
1820 deaths
Surveyors of the Queen's Pictures
American history painters
People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania
People of colonial Pennsylvania
American portrait painters
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
19th-century American male artists
19th-century English male artists
Burials at St Paul's Cathedral
18th-century English male artists