BENJAMIN WEST WAS the tenth child of John West, and Sarah Pearson, and was born at Springfield, in the State of Pennsylvania, North America, on the 10th. of October, 1738. His maternal great-grandfather was Thomas Pearson, the friend and companion of William Penn, the founder of the province in which the parents of the painter had settled. The family were members of the Society of Friends, and were alike remarkable for piety and active benevolence. It was from the example of John West, in liberating a negro, whom he had received as portion of his wife's dowry, and through his persuasion, that the Quakers established it as a principle, that no person could continue a member of their community who held a human being in slavery. The love of Art seems to have been an instinctive passion with West; for at seven years old, although he had never seen a picture of any description, he was enabled to draw a portrait, in ink, which was at once recognised as a likeness of the infant child of his eldest sister. The encouragement which he received upon this occasion gave a fortunate direction to the young artist's mind. He made drawings of the various natural objects in the surrounding neighbourhood: and the wandering Indians, in their summer visits to Springfield, were not only pleased with the lad and his sketches, but taught him to prepare the red and yellow colours with which they stained their weapons, and induced his mother to supply him with blue;—thus placing him in possession of the three primary colours. His fame now began to extend itself; and Mr. Pennington, a relative of his father, presented him with a box of paints and pencils, some prepared canvas, and six of Grevling's engravings. With these he obtained an additional impetus to study; and in a short time he produced a picture, which, although composed from two of the engravings, told a new and original story. As his celebrity increased, he acquired more efficient patronage than that of his family and immediate connexions; and before he was fifteen he had become a personage of considerable note throughout the province. About this time his friends deemed it prudent that Benjamin should be settled in some profession; and his father thought it best to consult the Society of which he was a member, as to the youth's future destination. A special meeting was therefore held to deliberate on the subject, when it was decided that West should be permitted to pursue his chosen avocation; upon which the whole community rose,-the women kissed the young artist, and the men, one by one, laid their hands upon his head, solemnly conjuring him to employ the talents with which he had been endowed in worthy and holy services. At eighteen years of age he quitted home, and established himself as a portrait painter, in Philadelphia; where his youth, and extraordinary talent, secured him a great portion of public favour. His prices were very low; but he laboured hard, and lived frugally, and was thus enabled to put by something, for the cherished purpose of visiting Europe. From Philadelphia he went to New York; where an opportunity soon occurred for his going to Italy. Mr. Allen, who had the charge of a consignment of corn and flour, intended for Leghorn, offered West a passage; and, being furnished with introductory letters, and some pecuniary assistance, he embarked for the Old World, in the twenty-second year of his age. On the 10th. of July, 1760, West entered Rome, and, from this period, his course was one of unvaried prosperity. Mr. Robinson, afterwards Lord Grantham, sat for his portrait, which, when exhibited, was pronounced to be second only to the painting of Mengs, the most celebrated painter then in that "City of the Arts." His lordship introduced him to other patrons, and his fame spread far and rapidly. Mr. Allen, of Philadelphia, hearing of the success of his protegé, and justly considering him an honour to America, forwarded to his agents, in Italy, a letter, authorising them, in his own, and Governor Hamilton's name, to give the artist unlimited credit: an act of munificence which was never surpassed, even by the princely Court of the Medici. SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF BENJAMIN WEST, P. R. A. Having seen all that was worthy in Rome, he went to Florence, Bologna, and Venice; the two former of which cities conferred upon him the honour of electing him a member of their Academies, as did also Parma, which he visited on his way towards England. He arrived in London on the 20th of June, 1763, and was cordially welcomed by his early friends, Allen, Hamilton, and Smith, who happened to be there. Shortly afterwards were exhibited his pictures of Angelica and Medora, Cimon and Iphigenia, and a portrait of General Monckton, which procured West new friends and additional reputation. Among others, he acquired the patronage and intimacy of Dr. Drummond, Archbishop of York, for whom he painted Agrippina, landing with the ashes of Germanicus; a performance which, being introduced to his Majesty, led to the presentation of the artist at Court, and procured him the lasting regard and support of the Monarch. In 1765, West married a young American lady, Elizabeth Shewell, on whom he had fixed his affections before quitting his native land, and who had been brought to England, by his friends, for the purpose of being united to him. Blessed with an honourable fame, with competence, and domestic comfort; surrounded by friends, and cheered with the countenance of his Sovereign, the circumstances of the Artist were now enviable; but they had no effect in altering the meek and unassuming tenor of his life. The good Quaker continued to conduct himself with the mild dignity, probity and candour, which distinguish his sect. To West's intimacy with George the Third we are indebted for the existence of the present Royal Academy, which was established upon the occurrence of a schism in the Society of Incorporated Artists; and to him we also owe the revolution in Art, which restored to it the predominance of the principles of nature and propriety. It had hitherto been the practice of painters to give their heroes the costume of ancient Greece and Rome; but West had early seen the absurdity of this, and, when he commenced the death of Wolfe, resolved to try whether the requisite effect could not be produced by truth and correctness, instead of by pedantry and falsehood. It is needless to say the experiment succeeded to his expectations. Upon the death of Reynolds, in 1792, West was elected President of the Royal Academy, upon which the King expressed a wish to confer upon him the honour of Knighthood; a distinction which, however, was modestly declined. His time, from this period, up to the date of his Majesty's last illness, was chiefly occupied with the splendid works with which he adorned the Castle and Chapel of Windsor. In 1802, he commenced his series of Scriptural pictures; the first of which was "Christ healing the sick," a copy of which he presented to an Hospital, erected in Philadelphia. The profits arising from the exhibition of this magnificent painting, enabled the Committee of the Hospital to enlarge the building, and receive thirty additional patients. The time had now arrived when his home endearments, of upwards of half a century's standing, were to be broken up. His faithful and amiable wife, after a painful illness, died on the 6th. December, 1817, and West felt that this was a bereavement he should not long survive. He began gradually to droop, and, though he still continued his labours, the decay of his powers was visible. He died March 11th 1820, in the eighty-second year of his age; and was buried beside Reynolds, Opie, and Barry, in St. Paul's Cathedral. His character as a man may be summed up in a few words: he was kind, affectionate, sincere and pious. Of his genius as an Artist, the reader can judge from the beautiful specimens before him. His chief characteristics are repose and intense thought: if he has little passion, his judgment is always clear; and in his delineations, he is unsurpassed for unity of design and precision of execution. His colouring was rich and glowing, and although in the following sketches this charm is withdrawn, the publisher trusts that, in other respects, there is no abatement of beauty. G. M. B. |