Benjamin West
Benjamin West helped establish the fine-art painting tradition in the United States. Born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, West showed artistic talent at a young age. He was encouraged to study history, art, and antiquity in Europe; in 1760 he became the first American artist to study in Italy. In 1763 he went to London, where King George III made him a member of the Royal Academy. West spent the rest of his life in London, keeping an open-door policy for American artists traveling abroad.
How would you depict “genius”?
By 1789, when this picture was painted, West was at the height of his career. King George III had given him a series of commissions to decorate Windsor Castle, including a project for the ceiling in the reception room of the Queen’s Lodge, where the royal family was living. A model for the ceiling’s central panel of the ceiling, this painting features a winged male representing Genius descending upon the female personifications of Sculpture, Painting, Architecture, Music, and Astronomy.
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd
\ Also in this gallery
