Benjamin West

Born in Pennsylviania, USA, Benjamin West was an artist, founding member and second president of the Royal Academy in London (1792-1805, 1806-1820). He was also an historical painter to the Court of King George III (appointed in 1772-1801) and Surveyor of the King’s Pictures. 

He spent his childhood – from the late 1740s to the 1750s – painting portraits in Pennsylvania and New York with local artist William Williams. Through the patronage of Dr. William Smith, West won the support of other local patrons, such as Benjamin Franklin and William Allen. He earned enough money to travel abroad and first visited Italy, where he studied and lived for about three years. In 1763, at the age of 25, he moved to London, where he was recognized for his British history paintings. A year after his move to England, he married his American fiancée Elizabeth Shewell (1741-1815) and remained in Europe for the rest of his life. He became known as the “American Raphael” and England’s leading neo-classical painter.

West met many influential Londoners, such as the author Samuel Johnson and the portrait artist Sir Joshua Reynolds. Together with Reynolds, West established the Royal Academy of Art in 1768 and served twice as the academy’s president. His patron, the Archbishop of York, introduced him to King George III, and in 1772, he was appointed historical painter to the Court. He was a mentor to many American and English artists, including Charles Willson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, and John Constable.

Among his most renowned works are The Death of General Wolfe (1771), William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians (1772) and Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple (1817). 

West died on 11 March 1820 in London and is buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral. 

Benjamin West owned the Joost van Geel work The Duet, which was later acquired by the Perkins Collection and then sold to collector Adolphe Schloss.

Sources: http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/w/West3149.html https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/benjamin-west-collection-9344/biographical-note https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/benjamin-west-pra