It will be in their [the Americans’] power to do great things with respect to the Arts and this is the moment for them to start,” wrote American-born artist Benjamin West in a letter to his student, American Revolutionary War painter John Trumbull, in 1805. His letter continued, “Her youth have the fire of genius—and her men have the thinking of Philosophers. It is the combination of those qualities which have rendered the Greek name [eternal] in all that was refined in the higher excellences of art— and in my opinion there has not existed a people so likely to be their rivals as the Americans.”

Though West’s predictions about the American artistic landscape were not fulfilled in his lifetime, he himself embodied these very qualities. It was these qualities that propelled a youth born in the “wilderness” of Pennsylvania (as he described it) to become one of the world’s foremost painters of his generation. It was also these qualities—and his hope for the future of American artistic expression— that earned him the title of “The Father of American Painting.” His neoclassical style combined with fresh, innovative elements earned him a lasting place in the history of art and brought the attention of the artistic world to the rich cultural fruits that were being produced in the newly emerging country of the United States of America.

As a youth, Benjamin West himself demonstrated the “fire of genius” in an unexpected way. He was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in 1738, the tenth child of a Quaker innkeeper. Since Benjamin’s mother went into labor with him while participating in a Quaker meeting, an itinerant Quaker preacher prophesied that Benjamin would be appointed by God for special service. This prophecy allowed Benjamin special privileges in his strict Quaker community, for early on he began to evince a remarkable gift for drawing the images of animals and people. Usually the strict Quaker elders strictly prohibited any creation of images. Quakers felt that the practice encouraged vanity. However, as Benjamin’s youthful talents grew, the Quaker community remembered the special circumstances of his birth and decided to allow him to develop his talent, which they considered to be a gift from God.

However, because of West’s Quaker upbringing, his youthful talents had to grow from sheer observation of nature and experimentation with the materials he had at hand. Until Benjamin was a teenager, he never saw any artistic works other than his own. Unaware of the tools and techniques of the trade, he drew on the ground, on slate tablets, and on the little paper that came his way. When he wanted to experiment with color, local Indians taught him to use red and yellow clays found in the area. These natural pigments, combined with indigo, which was available to him, gave Benjamin his first rudimentary colors, which he applied to his slate with his fingertips. A visitor at the inn mentioned the use of brushes to the child artist, but such things were not to be found in the remote area where he lived. The innovative young man clipped fur from the tail of his cat, Grimalkin, and tied the fur to sticks in order to form his first primitive brushes, much to the chagrin of his cat and his family, who were convinced that the cat had contracted some strange disease.

When Benjamin was 8, a visiting gentleman named Pennington noticed the boy’s remarkable works and decided to encourage his creative development. He sent Benjamin paints, brushes, canvas, and books on art. From these works, Benjamin learned that artists were often admired in other parts of the world and sometimes became the “companions of kings.” He had never thought of art as a profession before because his Quaker community considered art wasteful, if not wicked. The thought of becoming a true artist inflamed his mind, and he decided to find a way to pursue the gift that he felt God had given him.

When Benjamin was 12, Mr. Pennington invited him to Philadelphia to meet with other artists. With the grudging approval of his Quaker community, West left for Philadelphia, where his abilities caught the eye of several patrons. He became a student of William Williams and the protégé of Dr. William Smith, the provost of the college of Philadelphia. He lived in Philadelphia from 1746 to 1759, absorbing all the knowledge he could while becoming renowned as a portrait painter in this growing American city. However, West soon surpassed his teachers in skill, and he knew that he would never reach his full potential without going to Europe. In 1759, with the help of generous patrons, he finally achieved his dream of going to Italy to study the works of the Old Masters such as Titian and Raphael.

In 1763 on his way home, Benjamin West visited England, but he never made it back to America. King George III (who was so oppressing the American colonies) was captivated by the talents of this young American artist. He commissioned West to paint portraits of the royal family and later appointed West as his official historical painter with an annual fee of 1,000 pounds, a significant sum at that time. Benjamin West had at last become a “companion of kings.”

Benjamin West also changed the face of painting forever. Ordinarily, artists of his period painted important scenes such as historic battles with the figures wearing the garb of the ancient Greeks and Romans. This, it was felt, elevated the subject of the painting. However, West thought that historical subjects should be painted in attire and settings reflecting the actual event. His painting The Death of General Wolfe depicted the British general of the French and Indian War in the dress of the British regiment; the background showed a realistic Canadian landscape. Most artists of the day, including his friend Sir Joshua Reynolds, felt that West was sure to destroy his career with such a bold move, but King George III, after recovering from the initial shock, approved the painting. The genre of Modern Historical Painting was born.

King George III also commissioned West to paint a series of grand paintings for a private chapel that he planned to build in Windsor Castle. Benjamin West began one of his greatest creative efforts, a group of paintings known as “The Progress of Revealed Religion,” featuring biblical scenes. However, the king became ill (and eventually went mad), so plans for the proposed chapel were abandoned and the series of paintings was never completed. In 1963, the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery acquired seven of these amazing paintings, which now adorn the War Memorial Chapel on the university campus. Several of these works, rich in color and detail, are featured in this article.

West played another pivotal role in the culture of his day. With the help of Sir Joshua Reynolds, he founded the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768 and served as its second president from 1792 to 1805 and again from 1806 until his death in London in 1820. Using his place of influence, West mentored many of the most important emerging young American painters of his day, including John Trumbull, Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copely, and Samuel F.B. Morse, who later developed the Morse code used in telegraphic communications. In this way, Benjamin West, despite his separation from his homeland for much of his professional life, truly earned the title of “Father of American Painting.”

Amelia Harper is a homeschooling mother of five and pastor's wife. She is the author of Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, a complete one-year literature curriculum for secondary level students. She is also a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines. www.HomeScholarBooks.com www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/MiddleEarthMom