The American-British Artist Benjamin West: A Short Biography

By Doug West

Do you want to learn about the artist Benjamin West but don’t have the time or patience to read a thick book? Then this is the short and concise book for you!
•Grew up in colonial Pennsylvania and with little formal instruction became a portrait painter at a very young age.
•The first American artist to travel to Italy to study the art of the great masters.
•Painted the first historical art in America.
•His art helped transform the Neoclassical art world.
•Historical painter for Britain’s King George III.
•Helped found the Royal Academy of Art in London.
•His “American School” in London trained three generations of American artists, including such noted artists as: Charles Willson Peale, his son Rembrandt Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Trumbull, John Copley, and many others.
The book “The American-British Artist Benjamin West: A Short Biography” gives a crisp look at the life and times of the artist Benjamin West. To illustrate the story of his life there are numerous pictures of the people, places, and events that were part of the life of this great American-British artist. In addition, the book contains: a list of reference books for further reading, a timeline of West’s life and events of that period of history, and a section that contains short biographical sketches of the key individuals in the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug West
• Release date: Oct 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005122997

Doug West

Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.

Book preview

The American-British Artist Benjamin West

A Short Biography

By Doug West, Ph.D.

C&D Publications

The American-British Artist Benjamin West

A Short Biography

By Doug West, Ph.D.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright © 2021 Doug West

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

For my dear departed father, Jerry West, who was a lover of art, books, classic cars, and his family.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Early Years

Chapter 2 – Study in Italy

Chapter 3 – Life in England

Chapter 4 – The Patronage of King George III

Chapter 5 – The American School in London

Chapter 6 - Later Years and Legacy

Timeline of the Life and Times of Benjamin West

Biographical Sketches

Personal Note

References and Further Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Additional Books in the 30 Minute Book Series

Preface

Welcome to the book, The American-British Artist Benjamin West: A Short Biography. This book is volume 57 of the 30 Minute Book Series, and as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book should take less than an hour to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing biography of Benjamin West, you may want to know more about his life and times. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events in his life, and a section of the book titled Biographical Sketches, which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book. In the text, those individuals who are in one of the biographical sketches will have their name in bold print the first time they appear in the book.

Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy your time reading about this great American-British artist.

Doug West

October 2021

Introduction

The city of Philadelphia in the British Colony of Pennsylvania was the largest and most prosperous city in the eighteenth century in colonial America. Though the city of some 20,000 bustled with trade, it had only a fraction of the sophistication of a city like London or Paris. Under the leadership of men such as Benjamin Franklin, who fostered the growth of the intellectual and cultural life of the city, the first green shoots of the arts and sciences were starting to spring forth. Philadelphia boasted the home of the first medical school in America, thanks to the hard work of physicians John Morgan and