The Artist and His Family

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Artist: Benjamin West (American, 1738–1820)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 20 1/2 x 26 1/4 inches (52.1 x 66.7 cm)
Museum: Yale Center for British Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

In 1760, Benjamin West left Springfield in the Pennsylvania Colony for Italy, determined to improve his artistic education through exposure to the art of antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. Three years later he settled in London, where he quickly established himself as the leading history painter and a favorite of King George III. Despite its modest size, this painting is a profound meditation on West’s own cosmopolitan identity.

Standing to the right, West is dressed in a luxurious lilac mantle, palette in hand. Betsy, his American-born wife, sits in the window with their two sons; the newborn was a godson to Benjamin Franklin. The artist’s Quaker father, John, sits in profile next to the artist’s half brother, Thomas. They sit together quietly, soberly dressed Quakers, while Benjamin West stands behind, the famous head of an affluent and fashionable family having progressed from colonial innkeeper’s son to confidant of the king.

Text: Yale Center for British Art.