Benjamin West Prints
1738–1820 · American · Neoclassicism
Wall art by Benjamin West, restored in-house and printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper.
4 prints · printed to order on heavyweight matte paper · framed or unframed
About Benjamin West
Benjamin West was born in Pennsylvania in October 1738, the tenth child of an innkeeper, and was largely self-taught before Philadelphia patrons sent him to Italy in 1760; he settled in London in 1763 and never saw America again. The Death of General Wolfe of 1770, which showed a modern battle in modern uniforms instead of togas, broke the rules of history painting and became the most reproduced picture of its century. George III made him historical painter to the king, and he succeeded Reynolds as president of the Royal Academy in 1792. His London studio trained three generations of American painters, Copley's rival Stuart, Trumbull, Peale, Allston and Morse among them. In old age he painted vast apocalyptic canvases such as Death on the Pale Horse. He died in London in March 1820 and is buried in St Paul's. His history pictures print as grand, theatrical images for a study, library or hallway.