View source for Benjamin West

{{Short description|American-born painter (1738–1820)}}
{{Other people|Benjamin West}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox artist
| name             = Benjamin West
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|PRA}}
| image            = After Benjamin West, Benjamin West, c. 1776, NGA 1133.jpg
| caption          = Self-portrait of West, {{Circa|1763}}
| birth_name       = 
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1738|10|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Springfield]], [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], British America
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1820|3|11|1738|10|10|mf=y}}
| death_place      = [[London]], England
| nationality      = 
| field            = [[History painting]]
| training         = 
| movement         = 
| works            = 
| patrons          = [[William Henry (delegate)|William Henry]]<br />[[George III]]
| awards           = 
}}

'''Benjamin West''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|PRA}} (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was an American-born painter who specialised in [[history painting]], creating such works as ''[[The Death of Nelson (West painting)|The Death of Nelson]]'', ''[[The Death of General Wolfe]]'', the ''[[Treaty of Paris (painting)|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]]. He impressed King [[George III]] and was largely responsible for the launch of the [[Royal Academy of Arts|Royal Academy]], 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]].

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]] in Greenwich, and ''Christ Healing the Sick'', presented to the [[National Gallery]].

==Early life==
[[File:House that Benjamin West was born in.png|thumb|upright=1|The house in which West was born in [[Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Springfield, Pennsylvania]], drawn by [[John Sartain]] in 1837]]
{{external media | width = 210px | headerimage=[[File:Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus by Benjamin West.jpeg|210px]]
 | video1 =[http://www.racollection.org.uk/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART309&_IXFILE_=templates/pages/kiosk/video3.html Introducing Benjamin West], [[Royal Academy of Art]]<ref name="RAA A">{{cite web | title =Introducing Benjamin West | publisher =[[Royal Academy of Art]] | url =http://www.racollection.org.uk/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART309&_IXFILE_=templates/pages/kiosk/video3.html | access-date =February 19, 2013 | archive-date =January 24, 2013 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130124055952/http://www.racollection.org.uk/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART309&_IXFILE_=templates/pages/kiosk/video3.html | url-status =dead }}</ref>
 | video2 =[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAr5YJyawSA Lecture 7. Benjamin West's Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus],  57:08, [[Yale University]]
}}
West was born in [[Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Springfield, Pennsylvania]], in [[Benjamin West Birthplace|a house]] that is now in the borough of [[Swarthmore, Pennsylvania|Swarthmore]] on the campus of [[Swarthmore College]].<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=624 |title= Benjamin West| website= explorepahistory.com| publisher= Explore Pennsylvania| date= | access-date= }}</ref> He was the tenth child of an innkeeper, John West (1690–1776), and his wife, Sarah Pearson (1697–1756).<references group="Tall Oaks From Little Acorns, William Andrus Alcott" /> The family later moved to [[Newtown Square, Pennsylvania]], where his father was the proprietor of the [[Square Tavern]], still standing in that town.

West told the novelist [[John Galt (novelist)|John Galt]], 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 in the United States|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]]; while excelling at the arts, "he had little [formal] education and, even when president of the Royal Academy, could scarcely spell".<ref>Hughes, Robert (1997). ''American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America''. Alfred A. Knopf. p. 70. {{ISBN|0-679-42627-2}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite book| page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=jKx4FGf_HAYC&dq=%22My+mother%27s+kiss+made+me+a+painter.%22+harper&pg=PA176 176]| title= African-American Orators: A Bio-critical Sourcebook| editor-first= Richard W.| editor-last= Leeman| year= 1996| publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group| isbn= 9780313290145}}</ref> He received further art training by the artisan painter [[William Williams (artist)|William Williams]].

From 1746 to 1759, West worked in Pennsylvania, mostly painting portraits.  While West was in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] in 1756, his patron, a gunsmith named [[William Henry (delegate)|William Henry]], encouraged him to paint a ''Death of Socrates'' based on an engraving in [[Charles Rollin]]'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".<ref>{{cite book| first= Allen| last= Staley| title= Benjamin West: American Painter at the English Court| place= Baltimore| year= 1989| page= 28}} For more on this painting, see: {{cite journal| first= Scott Paul| last= Gordon| title= Martial Art: Benjamin West's ''Death of Socrates'', Colonial Politics, and the Puzzles of Patronage| journal= [[William and Mary Quarterly]]| volume= 65| number= 1 |year= 2008| pages= 65–100}}</ref> [[William Smith (Anglican priest)|Dr William Smith]], then the [[provost (education)|provost]] of the [[College of Philadelphia]], 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 (painter)|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".<ref>Hughes (1997), ''American Visions'', p. 71</ref>

West was a close friend of [[Benjamin Franklin]], whose portrait he painted. Franklin was the godfather of West's second son, Benjamin.

==Italian tour==
Sponsored by Smith and [[William Allen (loyalist)|William Allen]], then reputed to be the wealthiest man in [[Philadelphia]], West traveled to Italy 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]]. West expanded his repertoire by copying works of Italian painters such as [[Titian]] and [[Raphael]] direct from the originals.
In Rome he met a number of international [[Neoclassicism|neo-classical]] artists including German-born [[Anton Rafael Mengs]], Scottish [[Gavin Hamilton (artist)|Gavin Hamilton]], and Austrian [[Angelica Kauffman]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Lister, Raymond|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1989|isbn=978-0521356879|title=British Romantic Painting|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/britishromanticp0000list}}</ref>

==England==
[[File:James Smith - Benjamin West - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Portrait of West from 1770, now housed in the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
[[File:Benjamin West by Gilbert Stuart 1783-84.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''[[Portrait of Benjamin West (Stuart)|Portrait of Benjamin West]]'' by [[Gilbert Stuart]], 1785]]
In August 1763, West arrived in England,<ref name=galt1>Galt, vol. 2, p. 1</ref> on what he initially intended as a visit on his way back to America.<ref name=galt1/>  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, Berkshire|Reading]] at the urging of his father. In London he was introduced to [[Richard Wilson (painter)|Richard Wilson]] and his student [[Joshua Reynolds]].<ref>Galt, vol. 2, p. 2</ref> He moved into a house in Bedford Street, [[Covent Garden]]. The first picture he painted in England, ''Angelica and Medora'', along with the ''[[Portrait of Robert Monckton]]'',<ref>{{cite web| url= https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/lieutenant-general-the-honourable-robert-monckton-17261782-1762-183060| title= Lieutenant-General The Honourable Robert Monckton| website= artuk.org| publisher= | date= | access-date= }}</ref> and his ''Cymon and Iphigenia'', painted in Rome, were shown at the exhibition [[Society of Artists of Great Britain|Society of Artists]] in [[Spring Gardens]] in 1764.

In 1765, he married Elizabeth Shewell, an American he knew from [[Philadelphia]], at [[St Martin-in-the-Fields]].<ref name=cyclo/>

[[William Markham (bishop)|Dr Markham]], then Headmaster of [[Westminster School]], introduced West to [[Samuel Johnson]], [[Edmund Burke]],<ref>Galt, vol. 2, pp. 6–7</ref> [[Thomas Newton]], Bishop of Bristol, [[James Johnson (Bishop of Worcester)|James Johnson]], Bishop of Worcester, and [[Robert Hay Drummond]], Archbishop of York. All three prelates commissioned work from him.<ref>Galt, vol. 2, p. 9</ref> In 1766 West proposed a scheme to decorate [[St Paul's Cathedral]] with paintings. It was rejected by [[Richard Terrick]], the Bishop of London, but his idea of painting an altarpiece for [[St Stephen Walbrook]] was accepted.<ref name=galt15/> At around this time he also received acclaim for his classical subjects, such as ''[[Pylades and Orestes Brought as Victims before Iphigenia|Pylades and Orestes]]'' and ''The Continence of Scipio''.<ref name=galt15>Galt, p. 15</ref><ref>Now in the collections of the [[Tate Gallery]] and the [[Fitzwilliam Museum]] respectively</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite web| title= Trinity College, University of Cambridge |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/search/located_at/trinity-college-cambridge-5846_locations |publisher=BBC Your Paintings | website= bbc.co.uk |access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140511164255/http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/search/located_at/trinity-college-cambridge-5846_locations|archive-date=May 11, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> He said that "Art is the representation of human beauty, ideally perfect in design, graceful and noble in attitude."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shinn|first1=Earl|title=The World's Art from the International Exhibition|date=1880|publisher=A.W. Lovering|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S6tBAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>

===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.<ref>Galt, vol. 2, p. 20</ref>  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.<ref>Galt, vol. 2, pp. 33–34</ref> 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]]; Joshua Reynolds was its first president. In the same year, he was elected to membership in the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, 2:193–200.</ref> In a story related by [[Henry Angelo]] I (1756–1835) in his book of reminiscences, the actor [[David Garrick]], who was a friend of Angelo's father, the Italian sword master [[Domenico Angelo]], memorably sketched for the teenaged Henry the following exchange: one day the painter [[Francesco Zuccarelli]], on one of his visits to Domenico, got into a dispute with his fellow royal academician [[Johan Zoffany]] 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]]", while Zoffany tauntingly replied, "A figo for Poussin, West has already beaten him out of the field."<ref>Angelo (1828), pp. 360–61.</ref>

In 1772, King George appointed him historical painter to the court<ref>{{cite book | title = Birmingham Museum of Art: Guide to the Collection | publisher = Giles | year = 2010 | location = London | page = 104 | url = http://www.birminghammuseumstore.org/gutoco.html | access-date = July 19, 2011 | isbn = 978-1-904832-77-5 | url-status = dead | others= [[Birmingham Museum of Art]]| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110910171202/http://www.birminghammuseumstore.org/gutoco.html | archive-date = September 10, 2011 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> at an annual fee of £1,000.<ref name=cyclo/>  He painted a series of eight large canvases showing episodes from the life of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] for St George's Hall at [[Windsor Castle]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Black|first=Jeremy| title= Culture in Eighteenth-Century England: A Subject for Taste|year=2007|publisher=Continuum|location=London|isbn=9781852855345|pages=36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TmVK_LYCXqoC&pg=PA36}}</ref> 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.<ref name=cyclo/> The largest group of paintings (seven) from the series is currently in Greenville, SC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=wpengine |title=Benjamin West: The Progress of Revealed Religion |url=https://museumandgallery.org/the-benjamin-west-collection/ |access-date=June 28, 2022 |website=MuseumandGallery.com |language=en-US}}</ref> He also painted nine portraits of members of the royal family,<ref name=cyclo/> including two of the king himself. He was [[Surveyor of the King's Pictures]] from 1791 until his death.

===''The Death of General Wolfe''===
[[File:Benjamin West 005.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''[[The Death of General Wolfe]]'', 1770]]
West painted his most famous, and possibly most influential painting, ''[[The Death of General Wolfe]]'', 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]] setting of his ''[[General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian]]'' of 1768. When the [[American Revolution]] broke out in 1775 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]]s, which use expressive figures, colours and compositional schemes to help the spectator to identify with the scene represented. West called this "[[epic (genre)|epic]] representation". His 1778 work ''[[The Battle of the Boyne (painting)|The Battle of the Boyne]]'' portrayed [[William III of England|William of Orange]]'s victory at the [[Battle of the Boyne]] in 1690, and strongly influenced subsequent images of William. In 1806 he produced ''[[The Death of Nelson (West painting)|The Death of Nelson]]'', to commemorate [[Horatio Nelson]]'s death at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]].

===Later religious painting===
[[St Paul's Church, Birmingham|St Paul's Church]], in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, has an important enamelled [[stained glass]] east window made in 1791 by [[Francis Eginton]], modelled on an [[altarpiece]] painted {{Circa|1786}} by West, now in the [[Dallas Museum of Art]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://collections.dallasmuseumofart.org/ |publisher=Dallas Museum of Art | title= Accession number 1990.232 |website= collections.dallasmuseumofart.org |access-date=September 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025015356/http://collections.dallasmuseumofart.org/ |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saintpaulbrum.org/explore.php |title= Features of St Paul's Church |publisher= St. Paul's Church| website= saintpaulbrum.org |access-date=September 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115084050/http://www.saintpaulbrum.org/explore.php |archive-date=November 15, 2012  }}</ref> It shows the [[Conversion of Paul]]. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1791.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter W |url= http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterW.pdf |website= amacad.org |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=July 28, 2014}}</ref>

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]] in Greenwich, London.  His work, ''The Preservation of St Paul after a Shipwreck at Malta'', measures {{cvt|25|by|14|ft}} and illustrates the Acts of the Apostles: 27 & 28.  West also provided the designs for the other paintings executed by [[Biagio Rebecca]] 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]] in Philadelphia; instead he sold it to the [[British Institution]] for £3,000, which in turn presented it to the [[National Gallery]].<ref name=cyclo/><ref>This first version was transferred to the Tate Gallery where it was destroyed in a flood in 1928.</ref> 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.<ref name=cyclo>{{cite book|chapter=West, Benjamin|title=The English Cyclopædia. Biography – Volume VI|editor=Knight, Charles|publisher=Bradbury and Evans|location=London|year=1858}}</ref>

===Royal Academy===
[[File:The Royal Academicians in General Assembly.png|thumb|330px|''[[The Royal Academicians in General Assembly]]'' by [[Henry Singleton (painter)|Henry Singleton]], 1795. West, as president, is seated in the centre surrounded by his colleagues]]
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. During his time as president, he fell victim to the [[Venetian secret]], a scandal involving a supposedly secret set of materials and techniques used by Renaissance painters in Venice.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fenton |first=James |title=How to Paint Like Titian {{!}} James Fenton |language=en |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/02/26/how-to-paint-like-titian/ |access-date=2023-12-06 |issn=0028-7504}}</ref> He resigned in 1805, to be replaced by a fierce rival, architect [[James Wyatt]]. However West was again elected president the following year, and served until his death. In 1810 West was painted by his future successor [[Thomas Lawrence]] as president of the Royal Academy and the ''[[Portrait of Benjamin West (Lawrence)|Portrait of Benjamin West]]'' was exhibited at the 1811 [[Summer Exhibition]].<ref>Levey, Michael. ''Sir Thomas Lawrence''. Yale University Press, 2005. p.168</ref>

===Pupils===
Many American artists studied under him in London, including [[Ralph Earl]] and later his son, [[Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl]], [[Samuel Morse]], [[Robert Fulton]], [[Charles Willson Peale]], [[Rembrandt Peale]], [[Matthew Pratt]], [[Gilbert Stuart]], [[John Trumbull]], [[Samuel Lovett Waldo]], [[Washington Allston]], [[Thomas Sully]],<ref>{{cite web
  | title = The Joseph Downs Collection
  | website= winterthur.org
  | publisher = Winterthur Library
  | url = http://findingaid.winterthur.org/html/HTML_Finding_Aids/COL0394.htm
  | access-date = March 24, 2008}}</ref> [[John Green (painter)|John Green]], and [[Abraham Delanoy]].<ref name="SaundersMiles1987">{{cite book| first1=Richard H. |last1=Saunders| first2=Ellen |last2= Gross Miles| publisher=National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution)|title=American colonial portraits, 1700–1776|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=45_uAAAAMAAJ|year=1987 |isbn=978-0-87474-695-2}}</ref>

===Death===
West died at his house in Newman Street in [[London]],  on March 11, 1820, and was buried in [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite book| title= Memorials of St Paul's Cathedral| first= W. |last= Sinclair | authorlink= William Sinclair (Archdeacon of London)| page= 465| place= London| publisher= Chapman & Hall, Ltd| year= 1909}}</ref> He had been offered a [[knight]]hood by the British Crown, but declined it, believing that he should instead be made a [[Peerage|peer]].<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/benjamin-west-pra| title= Benjamin West PRA (1738 - 1820) |website= royalacademy.org.uk| publisher= | access-date= December 31, 2018}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:The Cricketers (West).png|''[[The Cricketers (painting)|The Cricketers]]'', 1763
File:Robert Moncton Martinique.jpg|''[[Portrait of Robert Monckton]]'', 1763
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 and Orestes Brought as Victims before Iphigenia]]'', 1766
File:Benjamin West - Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicu - 1947.16 - Yale University Art Gallery.jpg|''[[Agrippina Landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus]]'', 1768
File:Benjamin West - Cleombrotus Ordered into Banishment by Leonidas II, King of Sparta - Google Art Project.jpg|''Cleombrotus Ordered into Banishment by Leonidas II, King of Sparta'', 1768
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - The Departure of Regulus - RCIN 405416 - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[The Departure of Regulus]]'', 1769
File:Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds by Benjamin West.jpg|''Portrait of the Duke of Leeds'', 1769
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - The Oath of Hannibal - RCIN 405417 - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[The Oath of Hannibal]]'', 1770
File:Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West.jpg|''[[Penn's Treaty with the Indians]]'', 1772
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - The Death of Chevalier Bayard - RCIN 407525 - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[The Death of Chevalier Bayard]]'', 1772
File:Erasistratus the Physician Discovers the Love of Antiochus for Stratonice - Benjamin West - Google Cultural Institute.jpg|''Erasistratus the Physician Discovers the Love of Antiochus for Stratonice'', 1772
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - Sir Joseph Banks (1743–1820), 1st Bt, GCB, PRS - LCNUG 1989.9 - Usher Gallery.jpg|''[[Portrait of Joseph Banks (West)|Portrait of Joseph Banks]]'', 1772
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - The Wife of Arminius brought captive to Germanicus - RCIN 405683 - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[The Wife of Arminius Brought Captive to Germanicus]]'', 1773
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:Benjamin West - Helen Brought to Paris - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Helen Brought to Paris]]'', 1776
File:Sheridan family, Benjamin West.jpg|''[[The Sheridan Family]]'', 1776
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - George IV, when Prince of Wales, with Frederick, Duke of York, when Prince Frederick - RCIN 403399 - Royal Collection.jpg|''The Prince of Wales and Duke of York'', 1777
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]]
File:Benjamin West, The Battle of La Hogue, c. 1778, NGA 45885 (cropped).jpg|''[[The Battle of La Hogue]]'', {{Circa|1778}}, [[National Gallery of Art]]
File:William III at the Battle of the Boyne.jpg|''[[The Battle of the Boyne (painting)|The Battle of the Boyne]]'', 1778
File:Benjamin West - The Death of Chatham - Google Art Project.jpg|''The Death of Chatham'', 1778
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - George III (1738-1820) - RCIN 405407 - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[Portrait of George III (West)|Portrait of George III]]'', 1779
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) - RCIN 405405 - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[Portrait of Queen Charlotte (West)|Portrait of Queen Charlotte]]'', 1779
File:Oliver Cromwell Dissolving the Long Parliament.png|''[[Oliver Cromwell Dissolving the Long Parliament]]'', 1782
File:General Monck Receiving Charles II on the Beaches of Dover (Benjamin West).png|''General Monck Receiving Charles II on the Beaches of Dover'', 1782
File:Treaty of Paris by Benjamin West 1783.jpg|''[[Treaty of Paris (painting)|Treaty of Paris]]'' depicts the American delegation at the 1783 [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]]. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed, {{Circa|1783–84}}.
File:Dr Richard Price, DD, FRS - Benjamin West.jpg|Welsh moral philosopher [[Richard Price]], 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|''[[Alexander III of Scotland Rescued from the Fury of a Stag by the Intrepidity of Colin Fitzgerald]]'', 1786
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - The Institution of the Order of the Garter - RCIN 407521 - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[The Institution of the Order of the Garter]]'', 1787
File:Benjamin West King Lear Act III scene 4.jpg|''[[King Lear in the Storm]]'', 1788
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - Edward III with the Black Prince after the Battle of Crécy - RCIN 407523 - Royal Collection.jpg|''Edward III with the Black Prince after the Battle of Crécy'', 1788
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - Edward, The Black Prince, receiving King John of France after the Battle of Poitiers - RCIN 407522 - Royal Collection.jpg|''Edward, The Black Prince, receiving King John of France after the Battle of Poitiers'', 1788
File:Benjamin West - Edward III Crossing the Somme - WGA25552.jpg|''[[Edward III Crossing the Somme]]'', 1788
File:Benjamin West (1738-1820) - Queen Philippa at the Battle of Neville's Cross - RCIN 404926 - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[Queen Philippa at the Battle of Neville's Cross]]'', 1789
File:The Burghers of Calais 1789 Benjamin West.jpg|''The Burghers of Calais'', 1789
File:King Lear and Cordelia (West, 1793).jpg|''King Lear and Cordelia'', 1793
File:Benjamin West - Gentlemen Fishing - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Gentlemen Fishing]]'', 1794
File:West, Benjamin - Woodcutters in Windsor Park - Google Art Project.jpg|'' Woodcutters in Windsor Park'', 1795
File:Harvesting at Windsor by Benjamin West, PRA.jpg|''Harvesting at Windsor'', 1795
File:'Musidora and Her Two Companions, Sacharissa and Amoret, at Their Bath Espied by Damon' by Benjamin West.jpg|''[[Musidora and Her Two Companions]]'', 1795
File:Benjamin West, Maria Hamilton Beckford (Mrs. William Beckford), 1799, NGA 34071.jpg|''Portrait of Maria Beckford'', 1799
File:Benjamin West - Venus At Her Birth Attired By The Three Graces.jpg|''Venus At Her Birth Attired By The Three Graces'', 1800
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 - Milkmaids in St. James's Park, Westminster Abbey Beyond - B2014.2 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg|''Milkmaids in St. James's Park'', 1801
File:'Arethusa' by Benjamin West, 1802, High Museum of Art.JPG|''[[Arethusa (painting)|Arethusa]]'', 1802
File:Robert Fulton, 1806, London, England, painted by Benjamin West, American, 1738-1820 Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y. N0218.1961.jpg|''[[Portrait of Robert Fulton]]'', 1806
File:Benjamin West - The Death of Nelson - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[The Death of Nelson (West painting)|The Death of Nelson]]'', 1806
File:Benjamin West - Cupid and Psyche - 2010.44 - Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.jpg|''[[Cupid and Psyche]]'', 1808
File:Benjamin west omnia vincit amor 1809.jpg|''Omnia Vincit Amor'', 1809
File:Reception of the American Loyalists.jpg|''[[Reception of the American Loyalists by Great Britain in the Year 1783]]'', {{Circa|1783–1811}}, engraving  by [[Henry Moses (engraver)|Henry Moses]] of the now-lost original
File:Study for Christ Rejected.pdf|''[[Christ Rejected, Study]]'', 1811, [[Memorial Art Gallery]], Rochester, NY
File:Benjamin West - John Eardley Wilmot - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[John Eardley Wilmot]]'', 1812, with a replica of the ''Reception of the American Loyalists'' in the background
File:Benjamin West, English (born America) - Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky]]'', 1816
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 II|Shah Alam]]'', 1818, [[British Museum]]
File:Benjamin West - Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg|Self-portrait, 1819
</gallery>

==Works==
* ''John Sedley'', [https://archive.org/stream/americanpainters00sheriala#page/64/mode/2up view]
* ''Portrait of a Gentleman'', [https://archive.org/stream/americanpainters00sheriala#page/66/mode/2up view]
* ''Presentation of the Queen of Sheba at the Court of King Solomon'', [https://archive.org/stream/americanpainters00sheriala#page/68/mode/2up view]
* ''The Envoys Returning from the Promised Land'', [https://archive.org/stream/americanpainters00sheriala#page/68/mode/2up view]

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last1=Angelo|first1=Henry|title=Reminiscences of Henry Angelo, with memoirs of his late father and friends, including numerous original anecdotes and curious traits of the most celebrated characters that have flourished during the last eighty years|url=https://archive.org/details/reminiscencesofh00ange|date=1828|format=Vol. 1|publisher=H. Colburn|location=London}}
* {{cite book| first= John |last=Galt| authorlink= John Galt (novelist)| url= https://archive.org/stream/lifestudiesofben00galt#page/n9/mode/2up |title= The life and studies of Benjamin West ... prior to his arrival in England| publisher= Moses Thomas| place= Philadelphia |year= 1816| via= archive.org}}
* {{cite book| first= John |last=Galt| url= https://archive.org/stream/lifestudiesandw00galtgoog#page/n8/mode/2up |title= The Life, Studies, and Works of Benjamin West, Esq., President of the Royal Academy of London| publisher= T. Cadell and W. Davies| year= 1820| via= archive.org}}
* {{cite book| first= John |last=Galt| url= https://archive.org/stream/progressgenius00galtiala#page/n7/mode/2up |title= The progress of genius : or authentic memoirs of the early life of Benjamin West| publisher= Abridged for the use of young persons. Leonard C. Bowles| place= Boston | year= 1832| via= archive.org}}
* {{cite book| first1= Helmut |last1= von Erffa | first2= Allen |last2= Staley |title= The Paintings of Benjamin West| place= New Haven, Connecticut| year= 1986}}
* {{cite book| first= Ann Uhry |last= Abrams| title= The Valiant Hero: Benjamin West and Grand-Style History Painting| place= Washington| year= 1985}}
* {{cite journal| authorlink= James Thomas Flexner| first= James Thomas |last= Flexner |title= Benjamin West's American Neo-Classicism| journal= New-York Historical Society Quarterly| volume= 36| number= 1 | year= 1952| pages= 5–41}} Reprinted in ''America's Old Masters'' (New York, 1967), pp.&nbsp;315–40.
* {{cite journal| first= Susan |last= Rather| title= Benjamin West, John Galt, and the Biography of 1816 |journal=The Art Bulletin| volume= 86| number= 2| date= June 2004| pages= 324–45|doi= 10.2307/3177420|jstor= 3177420|s2cid= 162301706}}
* {{cite book| last= Sherman| first= Frederic Fairchild| series= American Painters of Yesterday and Today| year= 1919| location= New York| title= Benjamin West| url= https://archive.org/stream/americanpainters00sheriala#page/62/mode/2up| via= archive.org}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons and category|Benjamin West}}
{{EB1911 poster|West, Benjamin}}
*{{cite DNB|wstitle=West, Benjamin |short=x}}
* {{FadedPage|id=West, Benjamin|name=Benjamin West|author=yes}}
*[http://findingaid.winterthur.org/html/HTML_Finding_Aids/COL0394.htm The Winterthur Library] Overview of an archival collection on Benjamin West.
*[http://www.racollection.org.uk/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART309&_IXFILE_=templates/pages/kiosk/video3.html Royal Academy Collections website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100403230154/http://www.racollection.org.uk/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART309&_IXFILE_=templates/pages/kiosk/video3.html |date=April 3, 2010 }} Loyd Grossman talking about West's work
*[http://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=west%2C+ben*&role=&nation=&prev_page=1&subjectid=500026989 Union List of Artist Names, Getty Vocabularies.] ULAN Full Record Display for Benjamin West. Getty Vocabulary Program, [[Getty Research Institute]]. Los Angeles, California.
* The [http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/w/West3149.html Benjamin West Drawings Collection], including 33 of his drawings and sketches, is available for research use at the [[Historical Society of Pennsylvania]].
*[http://gildedage2.omeka.net/exhibits/show/highlights/artists/west Documenting the Gilded Age: New York City Exhibitions at the Turn of the 20th Century] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120203821/http://gildedage2.omeka.net/exhibits/show/highlights/artists/west |date=November 20, 2014 }}. A [[New York Art Resources Consortium]] project. Annotations and a pencil sketch of a West painting in an exhibition catalog.
*{{Art UK bio}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-culture}}
{{s-bef |before=[[Joshua Reynolds]]}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[List of officers of the Royal Academy of Arts#Presidents (PRA)|President of the Royal Academy]] |years=1792–1805}}
{{s-aft |after=[[James Wyatt]]}}
{{s-bef |before=[[James Wyatt]]}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[List of officers of the Royal Academy of Arts#Presidents (PRA)|President of the Royal Academy]] |years=1806–1820}}
{{s-aft |after=[[Thomas Lawrence|Sir Thomas Lawrence]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Benjamin West}}
{{Royal Academy of Arts}}
{{Authority control}}

.

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Benjamin}}
[[Category:18th-century American painters]]
[[Category:18th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:American male painters]]
[[Category:19th-century American painters]]
[[Category:18th-century English painters]]
[[Category:English male painters]]
[[Category:19th-century English painters]]
[[Category:Royal Academicians]]
[[Category:1738 births]]
[[Category:1820 deaths]]
[[Category:Surveyors of the King's Pictures]]
[[Category:American history painters]]
[[Category:Artists from Delaware County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People from colonial Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American portrait painters]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:19th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:19th-century English male artists]]
[[Category:Burials at St Paul's Cathedral]]
[[Category:18th-century English male artists]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]