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Biography
American-born painter of historical, religious, and mythological subjects who had a profound influence on the development of historical painting in Britain. He was historical painter to George III (1772-1801), a founder of the Royal Academy (1768), and in 1792 he succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as its president.
One of the first American artists to win a wide reputation in Europe, Benjamin West exerted considerable influence on the development of art in the United States through such young American painters as Gilbert Stuart, Charles Willson Peale, and John Singleton Copley. West abandoned the tradition of painting people in Greek and Roman dress, the first major artist working in England to do so.
West was born on Oct. 10, 1738, of Quaker parents in Springfield (now Swarthmore) in the Pennsylvania colony. Young West was encouraged to draw, and it was said that he got his first paints from his Indian friends. When he was 16 his Quaker community approved art training for him. For a time West studied in Philadelphia and New York City. He also served as a militia captain in Indian campaigns in Pennsylvania. Then he went to Italy for three years of study. In 1763 he went to England and remained there for life. (continued on the bottom)
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Known in London as "the American Raphael," he became a friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds, England's leading painter. Soon other influential Londoners, Samuel Johnson for one, took an interest in the young American. King George III commissioned him to paint several pictures, and in 1772 he appointed West historical painter to the king with an annual allowance of 1,000 pounds. By another royal appointment West was made a charter member of the Royal Academy, succeeding Reynolds as president in 1792.
West painted historical and religious subjects on huge canvases. Among his famous works are Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus (1768); The Death of General Wolfe (1771), the controversial painting in which he broke away from classical costumes; Penn's Treaty with the Indians (1772); and Death on a Pale Horse (1817), which anticipated developments in French romantic painting. Modern critics regard West's figures as somewhat stiff, his colors harsh, and his themes uninspired, but they respect his leadership and influence on later artists. West died on March 11, 1820, in London.
Benjamin West in Museums and Web Sites (Click on link to view image)
Art Institute of Chicago Collection Database
2 works by Benjamin West online
Butler Institute of American Art, Ohio
The Sepulchre, 1782
Dallas Museum of Art, Texas
Apollo's Enchantment, 1807
The Conversion of St. Paul, ca.1786
Benjamin West at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
5 works by Benjamin West
Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Portrait of George, Prince of Wales, and Prince Frederick, later Duke of York, 1778
Venus Consoling Cupid Stung by a Bee, ca.1802
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
The Fright of Astyanax, pen and ink, 1797
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota
5 works online
Benjamin West at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
13 works by Benjamin West
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
The Angel of the Resurrection, lithograoh
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
The Death of General Wolfe
The Royal Collection, London, UK
(Zoomable - look for the magnifying glass and the text "Magnify image")
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus
Benjamin West in the Art Renewal Center
Benjamin West in the Artchive
The Death of General Wolfe, 1770
Artcyclopedia
Masterscan feature: Death on the Pale Horse
Benjamin West at CGFA
13 paintings
Web Gallery of Art
5 paintings
WebMuseum
A Domestic Affliction
Wikimedia Commons Image Database