i Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/benjanninwesthislOOjack_0 r.uK'.ave.l l.y W. T. I-'ry Panned by himself. 1793 BENJAMIN West BENJAMIN WEST HIS LIFE AND WORK H flUonoGtapb BY HENRY E. JACKSON With a Letter by HENRY VAN DYKE TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS Philadelphia THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO. 1900 Copyright, igoo By henry E. JACKSON iNTED BY Request of the West Memorial Committee fo THE Purpose of Raising Funds to Erect a Monument to the Memory of West in Svvarthmore, Pa., HIS Birthplace Pf^lNCETOri UNIVERSITY PREFATORY NOTE At a recent meeting of the citizens of Swarth- more, Pennsylvania, it was proposed to erect a monument to the memory of Benjamin West, the Father of American Art, who was horn in the quaint old house standing on the campus of Swarthmore College and recently marked with a tablet by the Delaware County Historical Society. The following Committee was appointed to carry out the plans of the meeting: Rev. Henry E. Jackson, Chairman; Frederick M. Simons, Treas- urer; George A. Marr, Secretary ; Miss Beatrice Magill, Chairman of the Art Committee; W. H. Gutelius, Chairman of the Finance Committee ; Prof. A. H. Tomlinson, Chairman of the Con- struction Committee; Mrs. L. H. Bigelow, Mrs. IV. IV. Birdsall, Mrs. C. H. Bedell, Dr. Edward H. Magill, formerly President of Swarthmore College, J. W. Campion, Otto S. Kolle, Francis C. Pyle, Susan J. Cunningham and James Monaghan. Prefatory [hQote Mr. Jackson has placed at the disposal of the Committee the manuscript of a biographical study of the life and a critical review of the work of Benjamin West, which will be published as a memorial volume. The Committee considers it- self fortunate in thus being able to give, in the brief form now so much in demand and at small cost, a complete and fully illustrated biography of Benjamin West, furnishing in detail all the varied and romantic incidents of his life and reviezving his career as an artist in a popular and scholarly manner. S. G. W. Benjamin, the art critic, in his ''Art in America," characterises West as "one of the greatest men our country has produced. ' ' Judged by the standards of his time, he did important service to the cause of art. ''It unquestionably implied daring and consciousness of power," says Benjamin, "to brave the opposition of contempor- ary opinion and abandon classic costume in his- torical compositions as he did, to win to his side the judgment of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and create a revolution in certain phases of art. ' ' Not only as artist but also as philanthropist. West deserves to be remembered, for thousands ■ Prefatory U^ote of patients at the Pennsylvania Hospital, beyond doubt, owe their lives to the endowment fund from his picture "Christ Healing the Sick" pre- sented by him to that institution. Who can read the story of his life, from Quaker country lad to Court painter and Presi- dent of the Royal Academy, without a fresh in- centive to labor! How can we better keep alive his inspiring memory than by pen, pencil and memorial shaft! Mr. Brice, author of ''The American Com- monwealth," has pointed out that the Swiss, a peculiarly unimaginative people, by familiarity with their own annals, by national songs, by the celebration of anniversaries, by the statues of departed heroes, by the preservation of ancient buildings, by historical and antiquarian mu- seums, have not only become penetrated and per- vaded by patriotism, but have learned to carry its spirit into the workings of their institutions. Nothing permanent has ever been done in America to honor West's memory. The Com- mittee, desiring to make the memorial worthy of the subject, has consulted Frederick Mac- Prefatory Cf^ote Monnies — maker of the MacMonnies fountain at the World's Fair at Chicago, the statue of l^athafi Hale in City Hall Park, New York, the statue of Shakespeare in the Congressional Library at Washington, and other notable works of art—who is a descendant of West, and he offers to furnish a design for the monument, {which the Committee hopes to be able to accept) and promises a generous contribution towards its erection. The Committee appeals to all who wish to cherish the great memories of the past to aid in erecting this memorial. The Committee. THE FOREWORD. MR. Holman Hunt, in a letter addressed to Frederic W. Farrar, once said, " It has always ' increas- ingly witii my experience ' seemed both surprising and unfortunate that men of culture, who are without pre- tense to knowledge of the technical qualities of art, do not often enough express their feeling about the works which sculptors and painters and, indeed, architects do. England of late years particularly has suffered from want of large, independent expression of feeling on art." It is in the spirit of this letter that the following monograph is written, and the writer asks the reader kindly to bear in mind that it is as a layman without any knowledge of the technic of art, that he writes. All available sources, which are exceedingly meagre, have been drawn upon that the leading facts of West's life might be brought within a small compass and a brief popular estimate of his work be given. The monograph was originally prepared as a lecture, with no thought of publication, and delivered to the citizens of Swarthmore that they might be helped to give to their at-one-time townsman his "guerdon and glory," and keep green the memory we ought not wil- lingly let die. Browning, in his poem "Old Pictures in Florence," expresses the sarne feeling for the pioneers of Italian art, which we ought to have for the pioneers of English art, among whom West held no mean place. " But at any rate I have loved the season Of art's spring-birth so dim and dewy My sculptor is Nicolo, the Pisan My painter — who but Cimabue." Swarthmore, Pa., Dec. /, igoo. H. E. J. ENTLEMEN : It is a great treasure and a great trust which is put into our hands. The fine arts were late before they crossed the British Channel, but now we may fairly pronounce that they have made their especial abode with us. There is nothing in this climate unpropitious to their growth ; and if the idea has been conceived in the world, enough has been done by the artists of Great Britain to disprove it. I know that 1 am speaking to the first professional characters in Europe in every branch of elegant art, as well as those who are most distinguished in taste and judgment. If there be diffused through this country a spirit of encourage- ment equal to the abilities which are ripe to meet it, I may venture to predict that the sun of our arts will have a long and glorious career." Benjamin West. Taken from the first discourse to the Students of the Royal Academy, December lo, 1792. CONTENTS. I. The Birth of Fine Art in America .... 13 II. West's Early Ivife in his Wilderness Home 20 III. West Chooses Painting as a Vocation . . 27 IV. West's Ivove Romance and his Ivife in Italy 35 V. West in England. His Relation to America 50 VI. 65 VII. His Religious Pictures 72 VIII. His Lesser Historical Scenes 84 IX. His Greater Historical Scenes 93 X. Mrs. Browning's Defence of Benjamin West io8 HE greatest misfortune that can happen to any ^ people is to have no noble deeds and no heroic personalities to look back to, for as a wise present is the seed of a fruitful future, so a great past is the seed of a hopeful present. It is in this respect with peoples as it is with families— nothing stands in the world uncon- nected with the past or unproductive of the future. And as certainly as it requires a peculiar virtue in the child to resist the evil influence of a worthless parentage, so certainly will that people require a double grace from heaven in respect to future achievement, which starts with no elevating memories from the past. But there is a greater misfortune than this, and not merely a misfortune, but a crime, viz.: to have had noble ances- tors and to forget them." JOHN STUART BLACKIE. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. I. Portrait of West (Frontispiece) IVest II. Portrait of West Lawrence III. House in which West was Born . IV. West's First Effort in Art" Ward V. Portrait of West's Family West VI. " Christ Healing the Sick " West VII. "Kinglvear" West VIII. " Christ Rejected " West IX. " Alexander and his Physician " .... West X. " Death of General Wolfe " West XI. " Penn's Treaty with the Indians" . . .West XII. * * Cimabue's Madonna " Leighton Engraved by Charles Rolls Sir Thomas Lawrence Benjamin West THE BIRTH OF FINE ART IN AMERICA. "Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts : the book of their deeds, the book of their words, and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three, the only quite trustworthy one is the last."— RUSKIN. MONG the original thirteen colonies of the new world, Pennsylvania had the honor of being the pioneer in many departments. It was here that Bartram founded the first botanic garden in America. It was here that Frank- lin founded the first American Philosophical Institution, and assisted in founding the first public library in America. Here were founded America's first medical and law schools. Here was set up the first book printing press on this side the Atlantic and previous to the Revolu- tionary War, more books were published in Pennsylvania than in all the other colonies combined. 14 The Birth of Fine Art in America This remarkable activity along educational and philanthropic lines was due indirectly to the Quaker rule. Because under the mild government of the Friends, Pennsylvania be- came a refuge for the persecuted and a home for men of science and scholarship. Dr. Priestley, the father of modern chemistry was among those who came to this free atmosphere. And when Congress wanted to have the Decla- ration of Independence translated into seven European languages, Peter Miller, of Penn- sylvania, was found to be the man learned enough to perform the task. It is not hard, therefore, to understand why Penn's colony should be thus prominent in the arts of peace. The atmosphere of the Friends, congenial as it was to such work and studies, is a sufficient explanation of this activity. But it is a matter of some surprise that not only Pennsylvania, but the Society of Friends itself should have been the home of the first great American painter, Benjamin West. For it was one of the prominent doctrines among the Friends, "That things merely ornamental The Birth of Fine Art in A7ne7dca 15 were not necessary to the well-being of man, but rather superfluous," and among those merely ornamental and superfluous things, was the art of painting. Hence until West was six years old he never saw a painting or an engraving. It will thus be seen that West's religious environment was the least calculated to account for his choice of a profession. Nor could the natural scenery of Pennsyl- vania, wild and beautiful as it was, do much by way of producing an artist. For while beautiful scenery speaks a divine language to a cultivated mind, it is only to a mind already cultivated that she thus speaks. Of herself, nature can never produce poetic feelings or create an imagination. It is a noteworthy fact, as Gait remarks, that of all the nations of Europe the Swiss are the least poetical and yet the scenery of no other country seems so well calculated as that of Switzerland to awaken the imagination. On the other hand, Shakespeare grew up in one of the least pictur- esque districts of England and yet in him the imagination reached its highest development. 1 6 The Birth of Fine Art in America The fact is, if you seek an explanation of the advent of any great man, you may find it partly but never wholly in his natural human environment. After giving due weight to his natural surroundings and to the intel- lectual forces at work around him, we must always fall back for an explanation on what we cannot define more definitely than by say- ing, "It is his personality," a strange, subtle endowment, which we cannot grasp or explain, but which itself explains most of all, any man's work or influence. Each man's God-given personality is the only creative power in this world. All great men like poets are born not .made. He will achieve greatness either with the help of, or in spite of his surroundings. Benjamin West became the first great Amer- ican painter, not because of his wilderness home, far away from the centers ot art and culture, or of his Quaker training, but in spite of them. John Gait, West's personal friend and biographer, was right when he sought no explanation of West's genius outside of West himself. The Birth of Fine Art in America 17 It is for this reason that West's portrait is one of the best commentaries on his life and work, as Carlyle thought was the case with Giotto's wonderful portrait of Dante. Not only so, but the portrait of West to be selec- ted, is not the portrait by Lawrence, West's successor in the presidency of the Royal Acad- emy, now in the National Gallery, London, and in the Wads worth Gallery at Hartford, Connecticut. Lawrence has dressed West in the gown he wore in his studio, and represents him in the act of lecturing to students. He was lecturing on the theory of color, hence the presence of the rainbow by which he illus- trated his subject. He has introduced part of the cartoon of his ' ' Death of Ananias. ' ' Law- rence was employed to paint the portrait by friends of West in New York. Nor is the likeness to be selected the bust of West by Sir Francis Chan trey, now in the National Gallery, London, but the portrait of West painted by himself, a cut of which is here given. West makes himself a handsomer man than Law- rence represents him to be; not that West 1 8 The Birth of Fine Art in America consciously made a flattered likeness of him- self. Like every other artist he was fond of painting his own portrait. In Florence there is a gallery with hundreds of portraits of artists, painted by themselves, and the same thing is true of each of these, that is true of West's. In each case there is an expression, a loftiness of character in the portrait that other people did not see in the man. The explanation is to be found in the fact that the painter has painted it from within, not from without. He has painted it from his heart knowledge, rather than from the knowledge he acquired by look- ing in a mirror. The result is, we have not so good a physical likeness, but a better portrait of the man's character. The record of West's life and work is written on his own portrait and with it corresponds. In West, fine art in America had its birth, but he became the first great American painter almost wholly through his own genius. "Pain- ters are but the hands, and poets but the voices, whereby peoples express their accumulated thoughts and permanent emotions." West's The Birth of Fine Art in America 19 were among the first hands, whose cunning depended on his own skill, which sought to express ' ' the accumulated thoughts and per- manent emotions," not only of the peoples in the new world, but of all peoples who spoke the English tongue. II. WEST'S KARLY UFE IN HIS WII.DERNESS HOME "The longer I live the more certain I am that the great difference between men, the feeble and the power- ful, the great and the insignificant, is energy and invincible determination — a purpose once fixed and then death or victory. That quality will do anything that can be done in this world, and no talents, no circumstan- ces, no opportunities will make a two-legged creature a man without it,"— SIR T. Fowell Buxton. BENJAMIN West was born October lo, 1738, one hundred and sixty- two years ago. It is a fact worthy of note that the first six leading American painters came in pairs. Cop- ley and West were born in 1737 and 1738; Stewart and Trumbull in 1756; Vanderlyn in 1776 and Alston three years later. This is only a minor illustration of the fact, often remarked, that the great men in the world's history have usually come in spots. West was born in what is now the town of Swarthmore, Springfield Township, Pennsyl- Early Life in His Wilderness Home 21 vania. Gait says he was born in the ' ' town of Springfield." In the early days of Pennsyl- vania, and it is still a custom in New England, the town included the country side together with two or three or more villages. It was synonymous with the modern county. In Pennsylvania the county has taken the place of the town, and the town has been narrowed down to the limits of the village. This ex- plains Gait's remark. West was born in a house — a cut of which is here given — which dates back to 1724, almost to the time when the first Friends landed in Pennsylvania. In 1873 a fire broke out in the house which destroyed the interior, together with some specimens of West's boyish art on the walls. The stone walls were left uninjured, and the house was restored by Swarthmore College, to which the property now belongs. In 1898 a granite slab was placed in the south- ern wall of the house, near the window of the room in which West was born. It bears the following inscription : 22 Early Life in His Wilde7mess Home Benjamin West, P.R.A. Was born in this house 8th month, loth, 1738. Placed by the Delaware Co. , Historical Society, 1898. The tablet was unveiled with appropriate ceremonies, among which was a poem written and read by Professor J. Russell Hayes. The poem breathes the spirit with which we should cherish our famous landmarks : "And Thee, Old House, that slumberest serenely, We cherish as the painter's boyhood home With tender care, yon college, young and queenly, Doth shadow Thee with her protecting dome. In academic shades The artist's fame shall last. Here glory never fades Nor reverence for the Past." The first romance of West's life was in con- nection with his birth. For this old house narrowly escaped the honor which his birth conferred upon it. Edmund Peckover, a cele- brated Quaker orator, was preaching in the meeting house, erected by Mrs. West's 'father, about a mile and a half north of the house. Mrs. West was already the mother of nine children and was about to become the mother Early Life in His Wilderness Home 23 of Benjamin. She was present at the meeting. The orator was so vehement in his denuncia- tions of European life and its mercenary spirit and so eloquent in his praises of the new life in America, that Mrs. West became nervous and was taken sick. The meeting was broken up. The women surrounded Mrs. West and carried her home where Benjamin was prema- turely born. The orator and friends of the family predicted that a child who came into the world in so wonderful a manner was des- tined to have a brilliant future. Whatever we may think of the basis of this prophecy, certain it is that West's future career was attended at every step with romance. West's immediate ancestors accompanied William Penn to this country. His maternal grandfather was allowed by Penn to name the City of Chester in honor of his old home in Kngland. In the atmosphere which the earn- est, sincere, simple and kindly men of Penn's colony brought with them to Penn's forest. West grew up. It was an atmosphere of hos- pitality. In these primitive days, "when 24 Early Life in His Wilderness Home hunger made acorns savory and thirst made every streamlet nectar," it was the custom among those who lived on the highways, after supper and the last religious exercises of the evening, to make a large fire in the hall and to set a table with refreshments for such trav- elers who might pass during the night. When the family came down in the morning they seldom found that the table had not been visited. Such was the custom at Springfield, and, with this spirit in the home, it is not dif- ficult to understand how young West was on terms of friendliness with the Indians. It is beautiful to notice that the Indians taught him how to prepare the red and yellow colors with which they painted themselves and their orna- ments. To these his mother added blue from her indigo and thus he came into possession of the three primary colors, red, blue and yellow. He manufactured green by mixing the yellow with the blue. The Indians also taught him to be an expert archer, so that he could shoot birds for models. Early Life in His Wilderness Home 2 5 In connection with West's early equipment as a painter, the part which the family cat played in his art ought not to be passed by in silence. The strange antipathy to cats, which Oliver Wendell Holmes describes in his "Elsie Venner," and which many persons have, did not belong to young West. The neighbors, who were interested in the child's drawings, regretted that he had no pencils with which to work. He asked what they were and was told that they were small brushes made ot camel's hair and fastened in a quill . Since there were no camels in America, West could think of no substitute until it occurred to him that his father's favorite black cat "Grimalkin," would answer for 'a camel. He immediately carried his idea into execution, cut the hair from the end of her tail and made his first brush. As his need increased he supplied it from the cat's back, and in proportion as his need increased, the cat presented a sorry sight. The father noticed the cat's altered appearance and lamented the disease that produced it. The guilty and penitent Benjamin at last con- 26 Early Life in His Wilderness Home fessed the true cause of " Grimalkin's " mis- forttme, but the son's ingenuity so pleased the father that he escaped punishment. Necessity- is the mother of invention, and the sturdy self- reliance, which the isolated life of West's wil- derness home naturally developed, character- ized his whole later life and work. III. WEST CHOOSES PAINTING AS A VOCATION. o sketch of West would be complete witli- 1 ^ out the mention of an incident in his early life, which is as beautiful as it is pro- phetic of his future career. When he was seven years old his elder sister with her infant child, was visiting her parents, and one day when the child was asleep in the cradle, Mrs. West went out with her daughter to gather flowers in the garden, leaving the child in charge of Benjamin. During this absence the baby smiled in her sleep and attracted the boy's attention. He picked up paper, and some pens of red and black ink from the table and began to draw a portrait of the baby as the picture, here given, represents him as doing. When The child is father of the man And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety." Wordsworth. 28 IVest Chooses Painting as a Vocation , his mother and sister returned he tried to hide what he had done, but his mother, noticing his confusion, asked him to show her the paper. He presented the paper, pleading with her not to be angry. After looking at it his mother exclaimed, '* I declare he has made a likeness of little Sallie." She then threw her arms about him and kissed him fondly. " It was this kiss from my mother," said West in after years, " that made me a painter." Gait says, ' ' this kiss was the birth of fine art in the new world." One year . later, a Mr. Pennington of Phila- delphia, a relation of West's, was so impressed with the boy's drawings of birds and flowers, that he sent him a box of paints and pencils, together with some canvass and six engrav- ings by Grevling. This gift filled West's world full. He put them on a chair by his bed and would waken several times during the night and touch them with his hand to assure him- self that they were real . But every blessing is accompanied with danger and this was no exception to the rule. The paints were the West Chooses Painting as a Vocation 29 occasion of his playing truant from school and retiring to the garret to test them and his own skill. During three or four days in the garret he produced a picture, a combination of two of the engravings, with so much skill that his ingenuity again saved him from punishment on the part of his father and school teacher. Sixty-seven years later West said to Gait as they were examining his famous picture "Christ rejected," that there were inventive touches in this first attempt in the garret that with all his later experience he had not been able to surpass. Perhaps it is for this reason, as well as its historic interest, that this first attempt now a small and faded landscape, hangs by the side of his ' ' Christ healing the sick, ' ' in the Royal Academy of I^ondon. His early developed capacity, early brought him work to do. He painted portraits of friends in Philadelphia, Chester and Lancaster. When at I^ancaster, he painted his Death of Socrates," with a handsome young workman for his model of the slave who administered the poison . 30 West Chooses Painti7ig as a Vocatimi The bent of his genius was now apparent, and led to a crisis in his life — a crisis of singular interest. When he was sixteen years old his father was anxious to settle him in business. The boy's aptness and capacity for painting were such that he did not want to thwart the bias of his talent, and yet he knew that the pro- fession of a painter was adverse to the religious tenets of the Friends. In this perplexity a meeting of the Society of Friends was called to decide the destiny of his son. In regard to the story of this meeting as well as other stories it ought to be said, that around the picturesque person of West have grown up many romantic stories which have, perhaps, been embellished. But those who dogmatically assert, as Dunlap does in his " Histor- of the Arts of Design," that the story of West's first effort in art and the story of this meeting are pure fiction, give no valid reasons for rejecting them. And while the stories may not be reli- able in all their details, we have, no doubt, the essential truth or spirit of the occurrences which after all is the thing of value. The account IVest Chooses Painting as a Vocation 31 of this meeting which has been handed down preserves for us, we may believe, the spirit of what actually took place. In the meeting house near Springfield there was a large attendance. After prolonged debate in which there was great difference of opinion and deep feeling a certain John Williamson arose and delivered a speech which deserves to be remem- bered and ought to make Williamson one of the saints on the Friend's calendar. He said in part, ' ' Friend West and his wife have blame- less reputations. They have had ten children, whom they have carefully brought up in the fear of God and the Christian religion. And the youth whose lot in life we are now convened to consider, is Benjamin, their youngest child. It is known to you all that God is pleased from time to time to bestow on some men extra- ordinary gifts of mind, and you need not be told by how wonderful an inspiration their son has been led to cultivate the art of painting. It is true that our tenets deny the utility of that art to mankind. But God has bestowed on the youth a genius for the art, and can we 32 West Chooses Painting as a Vocation believe that Omniscience bestows His gifts but for great purposes ? What God has given who shall dare to throw away ? Let us not estimate Almighty Wisdom by our notions, let us not presume to arraign His judgment by our ignor- ance. * * By our maxims we have excluded the study of the fine arts for we see them applied only to embellish pleasures and to strengthen our inducements to gratify the senses at the expense of our immortal claims. But because we have seen painting put to this derogatory use and have in consequence pro- hibited the cultivation of it among us, are we sure that it is not one of those gracious gifts which God has bestowed on the world, not to add to the sensual pleasures of man, but to facilitate his improvement as a social and moral being ? The fine arts are called the off- spring and the emblems of peace. The Chris- tian religion itself, is the doctrine of good will to man. Can these things which only prosper in peace be contrary to the Christian religion ? But it is said that the fine arts soften and emas- culate the mind. In what )vay ? Is it by West Chooses Painting' as a Vocation 33 withdrawing those who study them from the robust exercises which enable nations and peo- ple to make war with success ? Is it by less- ening the disposition of mankind to destroy one another and by taming the audacity of their animal fierceness ? Is it for such a reason as this, that we who profess to live in unison and friendship, not only among ourselves but with all the world, that we should object to the cultivation of the fine arts, of those arts that disarm the natural ferocity of man ? We may as well be told that the doctrine of peace and life ought to be proscribed in the world, because it is pernicious to the practice of war and slaughter, as that the arts which call on man to exercise his intellectual powers more than his phyical strength can be contrary to Chris- tianity. ^ ^ * Can we believe that the fine arts are not for some useful purpose ? What that purpose is, ought we to pretend to investigate? L,et us rather reflect that the Almighty God has been pleased among us and in this remote wilderness to endow, with the rich gifts of a peculiar spirit, this youth. May 34 IVes^ Chooses Pamting as a Vocatioyi it be demonstrated by the life and works of the artist that the gift of God has not been bestowed on him in vain, nor the motives of the bene- ficent inspiration which induces us to suspend our particular tenets prove barren of religious and moral effect." This speech, with its cogent logic, its self-evident truth and its eloquence, which even yet has not all evapor- ated, won the day as it deserved to do. The meeting gave its consent, to West's choice of a profession. At its close the women rose and kissed the young artist and the men one by one laid their hands on his head, praying for a blessing on his life and work. Thus, says Gait, the Friends, the desendents of the icono- clasts who had beaten down statues and burned masterpieces of art, were about to show to the world, that the love of beauty is universal and unquenchable and that the sternness of the Puritans was directed not so much against art and beauty, when legitimately employed, but against the abuse of the emblems of the best aspirations of the human soul. IV. WEST'S LOVE ROMANCE AND HIS LIFE IN ITALY " For indeed I knew Of no more subtle master under heaven Than is the maiden passion for a maid Not only to keep down the base in man But teach high thoughts and amiable words And courtliness and the desire of fame And love of truth and all that makes a man." —Tennyson. ITH the benediction of his people upon his life work, West now set up as a portrait painter in Philadelphia and achieved some success, while at the same time he be- gan his study of history under private tutors. These quiet days of study were not uneventful, as no period of West's life was. If other inspi- ration was needed than that which he received in the little meeting house at Springfield when he was made to feel that his work was to be a religious mission rather than an ambitious career, that inspiration was now found in the next great experience of his life, an experi- 36 Love Romance and His Life in Italy ence second to none in its power to inspire faithful work and noble achievement, the ex- perience of a sincere love for a good woman. No other experience so inspired West's ambi- tion to be a great religious painter and embody the spiritual aspirations of the soul. For aside from Christ Himself, there is no better revela- tion of God to this world than the heart of a true woman. West loved and was loved in turn by Elizabeth Shewell, to whom he had been introduced by his friend * ' Mad ' ' Anthony Wayne. She is the central figure of the pic- ture here given. West is in the upper right hand corner. The two men sitting down are West's half-brother Thomas and his father. West's treatment of his father was always beau- tiful. It was like that of the artist Turner, whose father modestly wanted to be a servant in his son's house, but to whom his great son said, " No, we fought the world together and now that it seeks to honor me, you shall share all the benefits." It was like that of the artist Herkomer, whose first act, when he rose to name and fame in London, was to bring to his Love Romance and His Life in Italy 37 home, his old father, who was a simple wood- chopper in the Black Forest. West's father is properly introduced into this family group in the picture, for he played an important role in his son's love romance. KHzabeth Shewell came from a good old English family but she was an orphan and lived with her brother, a wealthy merchant of Philadelphia. Elizabeth was gentle and beautiful and of great force of character. Her brother was a man of iron will, and wanted her to marry a wealthy suitor, a friend of his. Her love was already pledged to West, besides she did not love her brother's friend. Her brother forbade her to see the young unknown struggling artist. She dis- obeyed her brother's command and met West secretly at the home of a friend. When her brother discovered it, he locked her in her room a solitary prisoner and she saw West no more for five years. The sufferings of Elizabeth, together with hard work were too much for West to endure and he became sick with a fever. The sick- ness was a cloud not without its silver lining. 38 Love Romance a7id His Life i?i Italy For it was the occasion of his discovery of the "Camera Obscura." It was on this v/ise : The fever left him so weak that he was obliged to remain in bed for days and to have his room darkened. The darkened room so dilated the ptipil of his eye that he could distinctly see everything in the room. One day while lying in bed, he saw the form of a white cow enter at one side of the roof, walk across the bed and vanish at the other. This astonished him, and he feared his mind was impaired by the disease. His sister, Mrs. Clarkson, in whose house he was, also feared he was delirious. She brought her husband to the room. West repeated his story and said, at that moment he saw several little pigs running along the roof. This confirmed his delirium in their minds and they sent for a physician. The physician found no symptoms of fever ; the pulse w^as regular, the skin moist and cool, but he gave some medicine to compose his patient. After his departure. West got up to investigate the cause of his visions and discovered a diagonal knothole in the window shutters. When he Love Romance and His Life iri Italy 39 put his hand over it, the pictures on the wall disappeared. He thus began to believe that there must be some simple natural cause for what he had seen, and he experimented with a horizontal hole in the shutters so as to throw the pictures on the side wall, bu.t to his sur- prise, the objects were inverted. He now contrived a box and with the help of a mirror invented the camera. He was delighted to secure the means for showing him how objects ought to appear in a painting. When he told his discovery to the painter, Williams, a few weeks later, he received a needed lesson in humility when he learned that Williams was already the possessor of a complete camera sent to him from England. His discovery had been anticipated. But, that a young man should invent one independently, shows his keenness of observation, so necessary for the work of an artist, to which he had dedicated himself. The lesson of this invention and the ambi- tion to excel which his love experience had inspired, soon made West sensible of the fact 40 Love Romance and His Life in Italy that he could not attain eminence in his work unless he visited Europe to inspect the great masterpieces of art, and compare his power with that of the masters, that he might under- stand the task before him, if he was ever to do worthy work. Whether Elizabeth Shewell should ever become his wife or not, his love for her had done its work for him and created ambitions that would not die. He had already gained her in a true sense. He had seen a vision . Henceforth to that vision he must be obedient. He resolved to visit Europe, and while he waited for the consummation of his fond hopes, to make himself worthy of the true soul, to whom his love was pledged. With this end in view, he left Philadel- delphia and went to New York where he could get a better price for his portraits, and thus secure money to make his journey possible. He says he found New York much less intelli- gent in matters of taste and knowledge, than Philadelphia, for New York was wholly de- voted to mercantile pursuits. And yet it was a merchant of New York, who furnished the Love Romance and His Life in Italy 41 means for West's visit to Europe. Next to the man who writes or paints a good work, is the man who appreciates it. This piece of good fortune, of which West's life is full, came to him on this wise : While he was in New York, and in the year 1759, the harvest of Italy fell far below the needs of the country. Messrs. Rutherford & Jackson, of I^eghorn, foreseeing a famine, wrote their correspondent Mr. Allen, of Philadelphia, to send a cargo of wheat and flour. Mr. Allen wanted his son to accompany the cargo and see something of the world. Mr. Smith, West's old teacher, asked Mr. Allen to allow West to go with his son. West was informed of the plan. He expressed his desire to Mr. William Kelly, of New York, whose portrait he was painting. When it was finished, Mr. Kelly handed West a letter, to be presented to his agents in Phila- delphia. When the letter was opened it was found that Kelly had ordered his agents to pay West fifty guineas to enable the young gentle- man to study the fine arts in Europe. Accord- ingly West, when twenty-two years old, and 42 Love Romance and His Life in Italy in the year 1760, went to Italy and studied for three years. West's visit to Italy changed the future course of his life. He never saw America again. The reason why England and not America became his future home illustrates one of the great principles of George KHot's writings, that men and women are made by men and women. That the nature and course of our lives are in the hands of the men and women about us, to a greater extent than we even dream. While in Italy, West visited the picture galleries and studied the masterpieces. The Venetian School interested him the most. Titian's coloring was a puzzle to him. He set himself to discover its secret. He thought he made the discovery. He said it was not due to penciling or to superior materials, but to the artist's delicacy of sight. This led West to paint first with the pure primary colors and then soften them with semi-tints. After years of experiments he felt that his discovery was correct. Two incidents of his life in Rome not only deserve to be mentioned but will Love Ro7nance and His Life in Italy 43 serve to show the connection between his visit to Italy and his future life in England. While at Rome he became the protege of a Mr. Rob- inson, a prominent Englishman. Mr. Robin- son with about thirty of the leading artists then in Rome, of which Rome is always full, took the young Quaker to view the master- pieces of art, and hear his criticisms. They took him first to see the Apollo Belvidere. When it was first revealed to him. West, all unconscious of the spectators who were ar- ranged so as to watch the effect of this master- piece on him, exclaimed, *' My God, how like it is to a young Mohawk warrior." When Mr. Robinson translated this remark to the company, they were chagrined to have the Apollo compared to a savage. But when West explained to them, the Indian's educa- tion, their dexterity with the bow and arrow, the elasticity of theis limbs, how their active life expands the chest, while the quick breath- ing of their speed in the chase dilates the nos- trils with the same consciousness of power as is seen in the Apollo and how he had seen 44 Love Romance and His Life in Italy them often standing in that very attitude and pursuing with an intense eye, the arrow which they had discharged from the bow, the artists present said it was the best criticism they had heard on the Apollo. The other incident referred to is in connec- tion with the artist Mengs. He was then at the height of his power and popularity as a painter. He was now painting Robinson's portrait. West also agreed to paint it, in order to show Mengs, a sample of his work. It was agreed to keep it a secret from the other artists. When West's portrait was finished and the whole company of artists was gathered to view it, the universal verdict was that Mengs had surpassed himself and had never done anything so fine. Then the secret was re- vealed, that it was West's and not Mengs' and the incident greatly added to West's fortune as a painter. The news of this occurrence reached Phila- delphia by means of the boat which had brought the cargo of wheat to Italy and the owner, Mr. Allen, received it while at dinner^ Love Romance and His Life in Italy 45 with Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania and others. They immediately sent word to their bankers in Florence to give West unlimited credit, to aid the first young American who had gone to Europe to cultivate the fine arts. By means of this generous gift, West decided to visit England on his way home to America. On August 20th and when West was twenty- five years old, he arrived in England. His fame had already preceded him and he was at once introduced to the leading men, among them. Dr. Johnson, Burke and Archbishop Drummond. So warm was West's welcome and so well received were his first pictures, that eminent Statesmen and Bishops tried to induce him to make England his home. West answered that there was only one obstacle in the way of accepting their kind invitation. He was betrothed to a young woman in Phila- delphia and he desired to return to America to marry her. How this obstacle was surmounted constitutes the last chapter in a love romance, stranger than fiction. 46 Love Romance and His Life i7i Italy West had been in Italy for three years and had not seen Elizabeth Shewell for five. His position now warranted their marriage and he requested Elizabeth to come to England, thinking that because he was no longer an unknown struggling artist, her brother would give his consent. This Elizabeth was glad to do, for her love had now become a religion. But her brother would not yield and when he discovered Elizabeth's desire, she was again a prisoner in her own room. Some friends of West's now determined to come to his relief and her rescue. These friends were Benjamin Franklin, William White (afterwards Bishop of Pennsj'-lvania) , and Hopkinson (afterwards Judge). The plan agreed upon, daring as it was, was carried out successfully. It was past midnight and a vessel at the dock was ready to sail for England in less than an hour. These three friends were outside her brother's mansion. All was quiet. The third-story window was raised. Up to it was thrown a cord, to which was attached a rope ladder. If Mr. Shewell was aroused, all was lost. Love Romance and His Life in Italy 47 Elizabeth quietly descended the ladder. A cab was in waiting at the next corner. She was driven in speed to the vessel. Mr. West's father was on board to accompany his future daughter to England. A few minutes later the vessel weighed anchor. The danger was past. After a stormy voyage, they arrived in Liverpool. The romantic meeting between Elizabeth Shewell and Benjamin West at the close of this voyage, was not the only meet- ing of tender interest. Benjamin's oldest brother Thomas, a man forty years old, now met his father for the first time in his life. Shortly after John West's first marriage in 1724, he left England to explore Pennsylvania, before he should settle in the new land with his wife. In his absence his eldest son was born and his wife died at her son's birth. The new little life was cared for by relations of the family, who begged to be allowed to keep the child, to whom they had become devoted. Mr. West remained in America and married again. He returned to England with Miss Shewell after an absence of forty years. 48 Love Romance ajid His Life i?t Italy The father and son therefore had the unique experience of meeting each other for the first time in their lives. West has put his father and half-brother Thomas into his picture, Penn's Treat}'- with the Indians." On Sep- tember 2, 1765, Benjamin West and his faith- ful bride were married in the Church of Saint Martin 's-in-the-Field. Mrs. West was re- ceived with great kindness by the King and Queen and was known at Court as the ' * Beau- tiful American." If Robert Browning re- quired any justification for the much disputed theory he maintains, in an exaggerated form, in his poem, " The Statue and the Bust " and illustrates by his character, " Pompilia " he could find it in the love romance of Benjamin West and his wife. Elizabeth Shewell and her brother were never reconciled. Many years after her flight and marriage, when West was in the height of his success, he painted a portrait of his wife in her " silver age." Mrs. West sent it to her brother as a peace offering, but he refused to look at it, and until his death it was kept Love Ro7nance and His Life in Italy 49 unopened in the attic. While she suffered injustice at her brother's hands, her descend- ants have justified her action. Among them is the author I