Benjamin West

Benjamin West (1738-1820), the first of America's emigré artists, became one of Europe's most important neoclassic painters.

Benjamin West was born on Oct. 10, 1738, in Springfield Township, Pa., to a struggling innkeeper who had emigrated from England. Though the Wests lived among Quakers, who habitually frowned upon art, Benjamin seems to have been encouraged by all about him from the time he began to draw at the age of six years. He gained a reputation in eastern Pennsylvania as a child prodigy. At first he was self-taught, but later, before his departure for Italy in 1759, he knew the paintings of William Williams and Gustavus Hessalius, whose work he soon surpassed.

Among West's American works produced during the 1750s were the Death of Socrates, forecasting his later neoclassic work; a somewhat fantastic Landscape with Cow (1748), revealing his early dreams of storybook castles; and a lustrous portrait of the young Thomas Mifflin. While in Pennsylvania, West aspired to be the companion of emperors and kings. He sought, then, the social opportunities which Europe offered.

Absorbing Neoclassicism

Because of his quaint charm and the remoteness of his origins (in the eyes of the Italians), West interested important patrons, critics, and literati in Rome. Cardinal Albani introduced him to the treasures of the Vatican; and the English painter Gavin Hamilton, the German painter Anton Raphael Mengs, and the esthetician Johann Joachim Winckelmann schooled West in the niceties of neoclassic art, which was then supplanting the more frivolous rococo style. Excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum had fostered the growth of neoclassicism, and partisans of the new nationalisms saw in the glories of the ancient world pretexts for their own ambitions.

When West arrived in London in 1763, he was prepared by temperament and training for the success he would enjoy. He was immediately encouraged by Joshua Reynolds and was deluged by portrait commissions. But he aspired to history painting, which he saw as a higher art form than portraiture. He wished to choose lofty themes, idealize figures, and dramatize scenes according to the principles he had learned in Rome. Robert Hay Drummond, Archbishop of York, commissioned West to paint Agrippina with the Ashes of Germanicus (1767), a story, of faithfulness and self-sacrifice based on a theme from Tacitus. West endowed his figures with a grave dignity, clearly stratified his space in the manner of Nicolas Poussin, and took his composition, in part, from the ancient reliefs of the Ara Pacis in Rome.

Relations with the King

King George III heard of West through Archbishop Drummond and commissioned from West a painting on a theme of nobility, Regulus Leaving Rome (1769). The painter and the King became intimate friends, and not even West's sympathy with the American colonists marred the friendship. The Death of Wolfe (1771), a major painting and one of George's favorites, marked a temporary break with neoclassic formulas. In this scene from the battle of the English and French for Quebec in 1759, West used contemporary costumes rather than Roman togas because the event had not taken place in Europe. To ennoble Wolfe, West showed the general in the attitude of a dying Christ with his lieutenants neatly placed beside him like attendant saints.

In 1788 it was obvious that the King was suffering from madness, and West lost his support. In 1792, upon the death of Joshua Reynolds, West was elected president of the Royal Academy, a position that was made increasingly difficult because of George's capricious behavior. Moreover, West's financial position became precarious, as he had lent large sums of money to the Crown and was unable to recover these. Royal commissions dwindled, then disappeared.

Yet West's reputation had not really suffered, and the public continued to support him. His Christ Healing the Sick (1811), commissioned by the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, was bought by the British Institute for 3, 000 guineas before its completion (the largest sum paid in England up to that time for a contemporary work), and a replica was sent to Philadelphia.

West's Style

West's work has been classified as being in three modes: stately, pathetic, and dread. The stately mode includes classicizing, elevating ancient themes, featuring idealized forms and gravity of demeanor, as in the Agrippina. Christ Healing the Sick, showing milder sentiments and more relaxed figures, falls within the pathetic mode. Subjects stirring the astonishment and awe of the beholder, like Death on the Pale Horse (1802), are in the dread mode.

Death on the Pale Horse, which was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1802, marked a departure from the staidness of neoclassicism and forecast the emotionality of romanticism. The painting was an apocalyptic subject of terror and sublimity. Space, rather than being clearly stratified (as in the stately mode), was here vast and unmeasurable; and color, rather than being applied to neat outlines, was handled in a free, Rubenesque manner.

West died in London on March 11, 1820. He played a fundamental role in the history of American art by encouraging and training the most gifted younger American painters of his time. In spite of his position, he was friendly and helpful to any artist, American or English, who stopped at his studio.

Further Reading

John Galt, The Life and Studies of Benjamin West (2 vols., 1816-1820), is an amusingly anecdotal biography by a contemporary Scottish novelist and the source for later studies. Also useful is Henry E. Jackson, Benjamin West: His Life and Work (1900). Grose Evans, Benjamin West and the Taste of His Times (1959), groups West's work into the stately, pathetic, and dread modes.

Additional Sources

Alberts, Robert C., Benjamin West: a biography, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978.

Flexner, James Thomas, America's old masters, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982, 1980. □

West, Benjamin (b Springfield [now Swarthmore], nr. Philadelphia, 10 Oct. 1738; d London, 11 Mar. 1820). American history and portrait painter who spent almost all his career in England. After early success as a portraitist in New York, he studied for three years in Italy (1760–3), chiefly in Rome, then settled in London. There he soon repeated the professional and social success he had enjoyed in Italy, in part because of the novelty value of being an American. Initially West had set up as a portraitist in London, but it was as a history painter that he made his mark. In Rome he had been in contact with the circle of Gavin Hamilton and Mengs, and his early work is in a determined but rather flimsy Neoclassical style (Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus, 1768, Yale Univ. AG). With his famous Death of Wolfe (1770, NG, Ottawa), however, he broke new ground. This was not, as is sometimes asserted, the first history painting to feature contemporary costume ( Edward Penny (1714–91), for example, had painted the same subject in modern dress in 1764 (Ashmolean Mus., Oxford)); however, it was the first picture in such vein to become a popular and critical success in Britain. It was exhibited in 1771 at the Royal Academy (of which West had been a foundation member in 1768) and was so admired that West had to make several replicas; he also made a fortune from the sale of engravings. George III admitted he had been wrong to think it ‘very ridiculous to exhibit heroes in coats, breeches, and cocked hats’ and in 1772 he appointed West his official history painter. His innovation was soon adopted by other artists, most notably his countryman Copley, and it marks an important turning point in taste.

In 1792 West succeeded Reynolds as president of the Royal Academy; he resigned in 1805 following internal squabbles, but he resumed the post the following year and held it until his death. In his later works, his style grew away from Neoclassicism; he was in the vanguard of the Romantic movement with paintings such as the melodramatic Saul and the Witch of Endor (1777, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford), and his Death on a Pale Horse (1817, Philadelphia Mus. of Art) has been hailed as a forerunner of Delacroix. His historical importance far outweighs the quality of his work, which (in spite of its modernity in ideas) is often pedestrian. He was the first American painter to achieve an international reputation and was an inspiration to many of his countrymen. Many young Americans who followed him to London benefited from his unstinting generosity in advice and practical help, including Washington Allston, Samuel Morse, Charles Willson Peale, and Gilbert Stuart (his assistant for several years), so he well deserves his title of ‘the father of American painting’.

West, Benjamin (1738–1820). American history and portrait painter who spent almost all his career in England. After early success as a portraitist in New York, he studied for three years in Italy (1760–3), chiefly in Rome, then settled in London. There he soon repeated the professional and social success he had enjoyed in Italy, in part because of the novelty value of his being an American. Initially West had set up as a portraitist in London, but it was as a history painter that he made his mark. In Rome he had been in contact with the circle of Gavin Hamilton and Mengs, and his early work is in a determined but rather flimsy Neoclassical style (Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus, 1768, Yale Univ. AG). With his famous Death of Wolfe (1770, NG, Ottawa), however, he broke new ground. This was not, as is sometimes asserted, the first history painting to feature contemporary costume (Edward Penny (1714–91), for example, had painted the same subject in modern dress in 1764 (Ashmolean Mus., Oxford) ); however, it was the first picture in such vein to become a popular and critical success in Britain. It was exhibited in 1771 at the Royal Academy (of which West had been a foundation member in 1768) and was so admired that West had to make several replicas. George III admitted he had been wrong to think it ‘very ridiculous to exhibit heroes in coats, breeches, and cocked hats’ and he appointed West his official history painter the following year. West's innovation was soon adopted by other artists, most notably his countryman Copley, and it marks an important turning point in taste. In 1792 West succeeded Reynolds as president of the Royal Academy; he resigned in 1805 following internal squabbles, but he resumed the post the following year and held it until his death. In his later works, his style grew away from Neoclassicism; he was in the vanguard of the Romantic movement with paintings such as the melodramatic Saul and the Witch of Endor (1777, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford), and his Death on a Pale Horse (1817, Philadelphia Mus. of Art) has been hailed as a forerunner of Delacroix. West's historical importance far outweighs the quality of his work, which (in spite of its modernity in ideas) is generally pedestrian. He was the first American painter to achieve an international reputation and was an inspiration to many of his countrymen. Many young Americans who followed him to London benefited from his generosity in advice and practical help, including Allston, Copley, and Morse, so he well deserves his title of ‘the father of American painting’.

Benjamin West 1738-1820, American historical painter who worked in England. He was born in Springfield, Pa., in a house that is now a memorial museum at Swarthmore College. After some instruction from a local artist named William Williams, he set up as a portrait painter in Philadelphia at 18, subsequently moving to New York City. In 1760 he went to Europe, where he remained for the rest of his life. For three years he studied in Italy. Working under the tutelage of Anton Mengs, he was also inspired by the classical research of Johann Winckelmann. He then settled in London, becoming a leader of the neoclassical movement. Under the patronage of George III, commissions came to him in great numbers, and in 1772 he was appointed historical painter to the king. A founder of the Royal Academy, he succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as its president in 1792. West executed more than 400 canvases, chiefly historical, mythological, and religious subjects painted on a heroic scale. He had many pupils and was a generous friend and adviser to younger artists, particularly American painters studying in England, among whom were Washington Allston, Samuel Morse, Charles Willson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, and John Singleton Copley. His influence on American painting of the period was predominant. Among West's best-known works are Death of General Wolfe (Grosvenor Gall., London) and Penn's Treaty with the Indians (Pa. Acad. of the Fine Arts). In these paintings he created a new departure in historical painting by clothing his figures in the costume of their period instead of the traditional classical garb. At the same time, he maintained the balanced compositional elements of the neoclassical painters. Sometimes his paintings were more turbulent and colorful and indeed prefigured romanticism, such as Death on a Pale Horse (Pa. Acad. of the Fine Arts).

Bibliography: See study by H. Von Erffa and A. Staley (1986).

West, Benjamin (1738–1820). History and portrait painter. West was born a British subject in Pennsylvania, remaining a loyalist all his life. He learned to paint in America, and studied for three years in Italy before settling in London in 1763. He was a founder member of the Royal Academy, becoming the second president on the death of Reynolds. In 1769 he began a long association with George III when the king commissioned a series of pictures for Buckingham House and, later, several for the state rooms at Windsor castle. In 1772 West was appointed historical painter to the king, but he refused a knighthood. His Death of Wolfe (1771), described by Reynolds as revolutionary, broke with the tradition of painting heroes in classical costume and showed contemporary dress.

June Cochrane

West, Benjamin (1738–1820). History and portrait painter. West was born a British subject in Pennsylvania, remaining a loyalist all his life. He learned to paint in America, and studied for three years in Italy before settling in London in 1763. He was a founder member of the Royal Academy, becoming the second president on the death of Reynolds. His Death of Wolfe (1771) broke with the tradition of painting heroes in classical costume and showed contemporary dress.

West, Benjamin (1738–1820) US painter. He settled in Britain, where he became historical painter to George III and a leader of neo-classicism. His best-known paintings are Death of Wolfe (1771), and Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1772).

http://www.nga.gov; http://www.hermitagemuseum.org