“...your most obliged servant, Benjamin West”:
America’s First Artistic Mentor
Andrés De los Ríos
O
n Monday, July 13, 1805, some of the greatest minds and men of Philadelphia
met to take yet another step in the development of their country’s arts. Gathered
inside the home of future House Representative Joseph Hopkinson were some of the
city’s most illustrious figures at the time: Pennsylvania District Attorney, William Rawle;
founding father, George Clymer; Chief Justice William Tilghman; and eminent artist
Charles Willson Peale, to name a few. This prominent group made history that day by
finally naming their latest contribution to Philadelphia’s (and by extension, the United
States’) cultural landscape; thus, they officially became the Board of Directors for “the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts” (PAFA)—the country’s first museum and school
dedicated solely to the collection, dissemination, and education of the arts. Following
this memorable act, the Academy’s directors agreed on the next order of business:
“that from a high respect entertained for the genius, talents, and distinguished fame of
our Countryman Benjamin West, he be elected an honorary Member of this Academy”
(PAFA Minutes). This motion—taken in the midst of momentous deliberations—reveals
the expatriate’s place in the hearts and minds of his fellow Philadelphians, for whom he
provided a symbolic base upon which to build their artistic enterprise. This paper will
present West’s role as a remote yet essential embodiment of the academic models and
artistic practices that would foster the development of the fine arts in the flourishing
North American colonies. In other words, it will argue that Benjamin West was, until his
death in 1820, an active contributor who represented both the traditional, or European
origins of American artistry and the first steps into new, expanded modes of art.
While most scholars agree that West began his long career in the arts during his
humble beginnings in Springfield, Pennsylvania, none deny the importance of the
three years he spent in Continental Europe between 1760-3, a watershed experience
in his artistic education that later influenced American art as a whole. The artist himself
believed the experience to be so critical that he frequently urged his future students
to follow his exact steps, going so far as to lay out a specific itinerary for American,
British, and German artists alike (Lloyd 150; Forster-Hahn 367). In Italy, West was the
first American artist to see firsthand the masterpieces of Europe’s Renaissance and
to copy them for the purpose of his own studies. In the academies and collections of
Rome, Bologna, Venice, and Florence, West found himself learning directly from the
works of Old Masters like Raphael, Titian, and Correggio (Lloyd 151). From each artist,
West extracted various qualities worth emulating in his own pieces: in Michelangelo,
he thus found “a compleat [sic] knowledge of the form of the human figure”; Veronese
in turn produced “relieffe [sic] and harmony” through an excellent use of shadows;
and Raphael gave “property and fitness to his subject” thanks to the “fine fancey
arraignment [sic] of his figures” (Forster-Hahn 368-9). As shown in the writings of
Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Sully, and Leigh Hunt, the expatriate’s veneration for
the painters of old would endure well into his later years (Peale 1766-9, Memoirs; West
1755-1819, Selected Papers; Sully to PAFA 30 Aug. 1808). Once he became London’s
most successful artist, West filled his own domestic spaces with works by Rubens,
Raphael, and Titian, all ripe for imitation by novice and senior artists alike as lasting
“‘sources’ from which to learn ‘perfection in the art of painting’” (Weber 28; ForsterHahn 373).
“…your most obliged servant, Benjamin West” 13
FIGURE 1
Benjamin West, The Death of General
Wolfe, 1770, oil on canvas, 60 x 84 7/16
in. National Gallery of Canada, Gift of
the 2nd Duke of Westminster to the
Canadian War Memorials, 1918; Transfer
from the Canadian War Memorials,
1921, no. 8007
But while the whole Grand Tour had much to offer in terms of pictorial inspiration,
only in Rome could West and his contemporaries study the world’s major collections
of classical sculpture. After his visit to the Eternal City, Benjamin West would argue
for the rest of his life in favor of Roman forms as essential models in the education
of any artist. In a letter to Charles Willson Peale, West explained that these figures
presented a “correctness of outline, and the justness of character in the human figure”
that “leave no room for improvements” (Prown 29). As evidenced by paintings such
as Penn’s Treaty With the Indians, or Hercules Between Virtue and Vice, throughout
his career West made frequent use of Roman figures like the Apollo Belvedere and
the Vatican Meleager in order to embellish his characters with the imposing gravitas
of the ancients (35). Later on, urged by West himself, the two contemporary American
art academies in Philadelphia and New York chose to follow in his footsteps and invest
in casts of Greek and Roman sculptures (West to PAFA 22 Jul. 1807). West perceived
these to be necessary materials “to instruct not only the mind of the student in what is
excellent in art—but that should equally instruct the eye and judgement of the public
to know and properly appreciate excellence when it is produced” (West to Rawle
21 Sep. 1805). This is why one can now find classical masterpieces worthy of West’s
own domestic collection such as the aforementioned Apollo Belvedere, the Venus
de Medici, and the Laocoön, still being studied and sketched by new generations of
aspiring artists at PAFA’s school (Weber 27-8).
In addition to his fervent devotion to the artistic lessons embodied in classical
subjects, West was also a firm believer in their traditional role as visual representations
of virtue. In a letter to Rembrandt Peale, West stressed the Plutarchian potential of
these figures in art, believing that they could grant paintings the “powers to dignify
man, by transmitting to posterity his noble actions … to be viewed in those invaluable
lessons of religion, love of country, and morality” (Evans 142). Despite his confidence
in the moral value of history painting and its hoards of ancient characters, West
would be one of the first artists to take the genre one step further. According to an
anonymous account composed around 1770, the American was the only artist “bold
enough to paint a subject out of the days of the country to which [he] belongs,” thus
breaking the genre’s bonds to the backgrounds of Greece and Rome (Letter ca.1770).
A century and a half later, art historian Edgar Wind also commented that West, in the
14 Expanding the Audience for Art in the 19th Century
FIGURE 2
Matthew Pratt, The American School,
1765, oil on canvas, 36 x 50 1/4 in. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of
Samuel P. Avery, 1897, 97.29.3
Death of General Wolfe (fig. 1), managed to do the impossible by depicting heroes
of his age with the same honor and reverence that befitted classical models (Wind
117). This resulted in a form of art that conserved the artistic principles of the historical
genre while at the same time engaging an expanded, modern audience. Although few
might have read Livy’s account on Regulus’s departure from Rome, most at the time
understood the “message of virtue, courage, and self-sacrifice” embodied in General
James Wolfe (Abrams 180).
Further proof of West breaking away from traditional artistic patterns and stepping
onto new ground is found in his role as a teacher. As exemplified in Matthew Pratt’s
studio painting, The American School (fig. 2)—where West stands in green to
the left of the scene—the expatriate differed from his British peers not only in his
enthusiastic willingness to receive American artists, but also in his fatherly optimism
and uncommon accessibility (Evans 21). Over the course of his career West received
more than two dozen American artists in his home at Newman Street; this select
group (dubbed “America’s First Academy” by scholar Frederick Logan) spawned three
generations of artists, including Matthew Pratt, Charles Willson Peale, Gilbert Stuart,
John Singleton Copley, Thomas Sully, and John Trumbull, to name but a few (Logan
26; Evans, Taste of His Times 109). Thanks to the letters these men composed during
or after their time with West, one can get a glimpse of the artist as an open, amicable
role model. For example, William Dunlap described his mentor as having “no secrets
or mysteries, [for] he told all he knew”—a stark contrast to Sir Joshua Reynolds, West’s
predecessor as president of the Royal Academy, whose students were “absolute
strangers” to his methods. Driving the point home, Charles Robert Leslie outlined
West’s morning schedule as beginning with an early inspection of his pupils’ works,
during which he offered valuable advice before heading to his own canvas (Evans 22).
West’s “parental fondness” and “gentle humanity” towards his American students
stand out even more in light of the many periods of hostility between Great Britain
and the United States; as Samuel Morse bluntly described it in a letter from 1811, the
Britons “no longer despise, they hate the Americans.” (Rather 329). And yet despite
the turbulent relations between these nations, West extended to all American artists
the reception he offered to his friend, John Green: “I shall most gladly receive you and
“…your most obliged servant, Benjamin West” 15
FIGURE 3
Benjamin West, Christ Healing
the Sick, 1817, oil on canvas, 132
x 216 in. Pennsylvania Hospital
Collection, University of Pennsylvania,
2013.0003.0119
if I am so happy from any little knowledge I may posses in the art of painting to be of
any use to you I shall have the highest pleasure of obliging you” (West to Green, 10
Sep. 1771).
But Benjamin West’s open attitude was only half of his educational program. Inside
his home in London, the artist arranged his collection such that the house was
transformed into a space for both the presentation and education of art—in a strikingly
similar fashion to what we can find nowadays within PAFA’s halls. A contemporary
account from author Leigh Hunt gives a sense of the layout of West’s home and the
artistic narrative he meant it to present. West’s trail of galleries first introduced visitors
to the influential works and casts of the Old Masters. After a room dedicated to the
art of his students, West presented his audience with an arrangement of preliminary
studies for his larger projects, followed by a set of galleries showcasing his grand-scale
history paintings. Finally, at the end of the trail, West opened the doors of his own
workshop to all visitors in order to show them his latest project. This unique mixture
of Classical, contemporary, and even preparatory art exposes West’s deliberate
manipulation of space to create a didactic setting that teaches the history of art,
including his current work in progress (Weber 17). And it was within this space that,
in the days before the proliferation of public collections, students, patrons, and other
interested parties could educate themselves in the intricate processes of art.
Benjamin West’s unique understanding of the relationships between art, space, and
the public is further demonstrated by his use of theatrical arrangements to better
engage his viewers. West surrounded his most famous pieces with “state-of-the-art
lighting, velvet hangings, fine furnishings, and carpets” that magnified the grandeur
of each piece, making a spectacle out of every painting (Weber 20). Likewise, West’s
desire to make both art and gallery come alive manifested itself in his collaboration
with the Pennsylvania Hospital. After accepting the institution’s commission for
one of his works—the future Christ Healing the Sick—(fig. 3), West insisted on the
construction of a unique “picture house” made for the sole purpose of exhibiting
the painting. In a letter to the Hospital’s managers, West included a geometric plan
of this building to make sure its style and natural light were adequate for maximum
appreciation of the artwork. The artist also shared with the managers some advice
on the necessary arrangements for the impending exhibition of the painting, such
as charging a quarter of a dollar for admissions, printing a catalogue describing the
painting, and keeping the revenue gained from the endeavor for the hospital’s future
16 Expanding the Audience for Art in the 19th Century
FIGURE 4
Thomas Sully (after Charles R. Leslie,
after Sir Thomas Lawrence, ca. 1820),
Benjamin West, 1864, oil on canvas, 58
5/8 x 48 1/4 in. Pennsylvania Academy
of the Fine Arts, Pennsylvania Academy
purchase, 1864.1
development (West to Managers 1 Aug. 1817; West to Coates 6 Aug. 1817; West to
Wharton 17 Mar. 1814). In the end, the revenues vindicated West’s recommendations:
even taking into consideration the expenses used for the construction of the picture
house, Dr. Thomas Morton reported an income of over $25,000 between 1817 and
1843 just from admission fees (Dillenberger 117). West’s theatrical arrangements and
gains later motivated American artists such as Rembrandt Peale and John Vanderlyn
to see “exhibition pieces” as potential sources of income for artists who, bored by
monotonous portrait commissions, sought both greater artistic challenges and a
broader, more democratic audience (Dickson 10). This enterprise, as historian Kaylin
Weber has noted, not only demonstrated West’s unrivaled ability to attract and
engage audiences, but also previewed “the innovative and dramatic exhibition spaces
of the early nineteenth century” (Weber 45).
Benjamin West’s interactions with the Pennsylvania Hospital along with his nomination
as honorary academician for PAFA are but two examples of his intimate involvement
in the growing cultural landscape of Philadelphia. Until his death in 1820, West neither
forgot about his native land, nor did his country forget about him. A look at the artist’s
“…your most obliged servant, Benjamin West” 17
letters reveals a man who, until his death, rejoiced at the achievements (political and
artistic) of the new American nation. Writing in 1783 to Charles Willson Peale after the
Revolutionary War, West congratulated his countrymen “on the event of Peace and
the fortitude the[y] have shown during the unhappy war.” West would also explicitly
express his hopes that the United States differed from Britain, where local artists
have been “excluded to eternal disgrace” in favor of foreign works, thereby crippling
the country’s local genius (West to President and Directors of PAFA 18 Sep. 1805).
Instead, he envisioned the United States as an “empire bursting into magnitude of the
first order,” with Philadelphia taking the role of “Athens”—where the fine arts would
flourish thanks to the “eminent men” of her “greatly distinguished” Academy (West
to PAFA 22 Jul. 1807). But regardless of his overflowing excitement, the artist could
not return to his home country; his professional, social, and personal bonds in London
proved too strong (Rather 328).
Despite West’s physical absence from his home country, Americans (particularly
Philadelphians) still considered him integral to their cultural advancement. In 1807,
Robert Fulton wrote to PAFA insisting that they “procure some of [West’s] finest
performances” in order to present them to the American public as “proof of the
genius of our country” and to the Academy’s students as “specimens of fine taste
to be imitated” (Fulton to PAFA 18 Nov. 1807). In a similar vein, Thomas Sully sent
a letter to PAFA’s directors one year later requesting their sponsorship for a twelvemonth trip to West’s workshop in London. Here, Sully planned to return the investment
by copying some of West’s works; those copies would in turn serve to enhance PAFA’s
collection (Sully to PAFA 4 Feb. 1809). Sully and his contemporaries continued their
reverence of West’s life and deeds even after their mentor’s death: even as late as
1864, Sully copied Sir Thomas Lawrence’s portrait of West with Philadelphia’s own
Christ Healing the Sick hanging on the background (fig. 4).
Benjamin West has thus stepped into the history of American art as an essential
figure in the exhibition of art to visitors from all classes and origins. As argued in this
paper, despite his European influences, West contributed in many ways to a new era
of American public art. Not only did he move away from classical subjects to record
contemporary events and sentiments, but he also introduced generations of American
artists to new modes of artistic education and presentation. These innovations and
his role as symbolic figurehead of the nation’s artistic potential in turn fostered an
appreciation of the fine arts in the flourishing cultural identity of his native Philadelphia
and, overall, in the early American republic.
18 Expanding the Audience for Art in the 19th Century
WORKS CITED
Anonymous. Letter to Unknown. c. 1770. The Life, Studies, and Works of Benjamin West in extra-illustrated form, circa 1787-1822. Box 2, Folder 6. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Abrams, Ann U. The Valiant Hero: Benjamin West and Grand-style History Painting. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
Board of Directors of The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Minutes from 13 Jul. 1805. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Archives.
Coates, Samuel. Letter to Benjamin West. 1801. University Hospital Archives.
Dickson, Harold E. “Artists as Showmen.” American Art Journal 5, no. 1 (1973): 4-17.
Dillenberger, John. Benjamin West: The Context of His Life’s Work. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press, 1977.
Evans, Dorinda. Benjamin West and His American Students. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980.
Evans, Grose. Benjamin West and the Taste of His Times. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1959.
Forster-Hahn, Franziska. “The Sources of True Taste. Benjamin West’s Instructions to a Young Painter for His Studies in Italy.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 30 (1967): 367-82.
Flexner, James T. America’s Old Masters. New York: Dover Publications, 1967.
Fulton, Robert. Letter to PAFA. 18 Nov. 1807. PAFA Archives.
---. Letter to PAFA. 12 Apr. 1810. PAFA Archives.
Logan, Frederick M. Growth of Art in American Schools. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1955.
Lloyd, Christopher. “Benjamin West and Italy.” American Adversaries: West and Copley in a Transatlantic World. Eds. Emily Neff and Kaylin Weber. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013: 150-162.
Marks, Arthur S. “Benjamin West and the American Revolution.” American Art Journal 6, no. 2 (1974): 15-35.
Neff, Emily B., and Weber, Kaylin H. American Adversaries: West and Copley in a Transatlantic World. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013.
Peale, Charles W., 1766-9. Memoirs, Benjamin West selected papers 1755-1819. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Prown, Jules D. “Benjamin West and the Use of Antiquity.” American Art 10, no. 2 (Summer 1996): 28-49.
Rather, Susan. “Benjamin West, John Galt, and the Biography of 1816.” The Art Bulletin 86, no. 2 (2004): 324-45.
Staley, Allen. Benjamin West in Pennsylvania Collections. Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1986.
Sully T., Letter to PAFA. 30 Aug. 1808. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Archives.
---. Letter to PAFA. 4 Feb. 1809. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Archives.
West, B. Letter to John Green. 10 Sep. 1771. Benjamin West collection, 1771-circa 1879. Smithsonian Archives of American Art.
---. Letter to Samuel Coates. 8 Jul. 1801. Pennsylvania Hospital Archives.
---. Letter to Clymer, Rawle, and James. 21 Sep. 1805. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Archives.
---. Letter to William Rawle. 21 Sep. 1805. Benjamin West selected papers 1755-1819. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
---. Letter to the President and Directors of PAFA. 28 Sep. 1805. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Archives.
---. Letter to PAFA. 22 Jul. 1807. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Archives.
---. Letter to Joseph Wharton. 17 Mar. 1814. Pennsylvania Hospital Archives.
---. Letter to Pennsylvania Hospital Managers. 1 Aug. 1817. Pennsylvania Hospital Archives
---. Letter to Samuel Coates. 6 Aug. 1817. Pennsylvania Hospital Archives.
Wind, Edgar. “The Revolution of History Painting.” Journal of the Warburg Institute 2, no. 2 (1938): 116-27.
“…your most obliged servant, Benjamin West” 19