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 PROGRESS OF GENIUS, 
 
 OR 
 
 AUTHENTIC MEMOIRS OF THE EARLY LIFE 
 OF 
 
 BENJAMIN WEST, ESQ. 
 
 President of the Royal Academy, London. 
 
 COMPILED FROM MATERIALS FURNISHED BY HIMSELF, 
 
 BY JOHN GALT. 
 
 ABRIDGED FOR THE USE OF YOUNG PERSONS, BY A LADY.- 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 LEONARD C. BOWLES, 
 
 18.32.
 
 Eutered according to act of Congress, in the year 1830, 
 by Leonard C. Bowles, in the Clerk's office of the District 
 Court of Massachusetts.
 
 THE INSPIRED BOY. 
 
 A boy! yet in his eye you trace 
 
 The watchfulness of graven years, 
 And tales are in that serious face 
 Of feelings early steeped in tears; 
 
 And in that tranquil gaze 
 There lingers many a thought unsaid 
 
 Shadows of other days, 
 Whose hours with shapes of beauty came and fted. 
 
 And sometimes it is even so 
 
 The spirit ripens in the germ, 
 The new sealed fountains overflow, 
 
 The bright wings tremble in the morn. 
 The soul detects some passing token, 
 
 Some emblem of a brighter world, 
 And with its shell of clay unbroken, 
 Its shining pinions arc unfurled, 
 
 And, like a blessed dream, 
 Phantoms, apparelled from the sky, 
 
 Athwart its vision stream 
 As if the light of heaven had touched its gifted eye.
 
 IV 
 
 "Tis strange how childhood's simple words 
 
 Interpret nature's mystic book- 
 How it will listen to the birds, 
 And ponder on the running brook, 
 
 As if its spirit fed. 
 
 And strange that we remember not, 
 Who fill its eye and weave its lot, 
 
 How lightly it were led 
 Back to the home which it has scarce forgot
 
 THE LIFE OF WEST. 
 
 Benjamin West, the subject of the 
 following memoir, was the youngest son 
 of John West and Sarah Pearson, and 
 was born near Springfield, in Chester 
 qounty, in the State of Pennsylvania, on 
 the 10th of October, 1738. About the 
 year 1667 the family from which Mr 
 West descended, embraced the tenets 
 of the quakers, and in 1699 they emi- 
 grated from England to America. 
 
 Thomas Pearson, the maternal grand- 
 father of the artist, was the confidential 
 friend of William Penn, and the same 
 person to whom that venerable legisla- 
 tor said on landing in America, * Provi-
 
 dence has brought us safely hither; thou 
 hast been the companion of my perils, 
 what wilt thou that I should call this 
 place ?' Mr Pearson replied, that 'since 
 he had honored him so far as to desire 
 him to give that part of the country a 
 name, he would, in remembrance of his 
 native city, call it Chester.' 
 
 The exact spot where these patri- 
 archs of the new world first landed, is 
 still pointed out with reverence by the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 Mr Pearson built a house and formed 
 a plantation in the. neighborhood which 
 he called Springfield, in consequence of 
 discovering a large spring of water in 
 the first field cleared for cultivation; and 
 it was near this spot that Benjamin 
 West was born. When the West fami- 
 ly emigrated, John, the father of Benja- 
 min, was left to complete his education 
 at the great school of the Quakers at
 
 
 Uxbridge and did not join his relations 
 in America till the year 1714. Soon 
 after his arrival he married Sarah Pear- 
 son, the mother of the artist, and of the 
 worth and piety of his character we have 
 a remarkable proof in the following 
 transactions which, pephaps, reflect more 
 real glory on his family than the achieve- 
 ments of all his heroic ancestors. As a 
 part of the marriage portion of Mrs 
 West, he received a negro slave, whose 
 diligence and fidelity very soon obtained 
 his full confidence. 
 
 Being engaged in trade, he had occa- 
 sion to make a voyage to the West In- 
 dies, and left this young black to super- 
 intend the plantation, or farm, in his ab- 
 sence. During his residence in Barba- 
 does, his feelings were greatly hurt, and 
 his principles shocked, by the cruelties 
 to which he saw the negroes subjected 
 in that island, and the debasing effects
 
 were forcibly contrasted in his mind, 
 with the morals and intelligence of his 
 own slave. Conversing on this subject 
 with Dr Gammon, who was then at the 
 head of the society of Friends in Barba- 
 does, the Doctor convinced him that it 
 was contrary to ^the laws of God and 
 nature that any man should retain his 
 fellow creatures in slavery. This con- 
 viction could not rest long inactive in a 
 character formed like that of Mr West. 
 On his return to America he gave the 
 negro his freedom. Not satisfied with 
 doing good himself, he endeavored to 
 make others follow his example, and in 
 a short time his example had such an 
 effect on his neighbors, that after some 
 public discussion on the subject, it was 
 resolved by a considerable majority that 
 it was the duty of Christians to give 
 freedom to their slaves. Their example 
 was followed by the Quakers in the
 
 township of Goshen, in Chester county, 
 and finally, about the year 1753, the 
 same question was moved in the annual 
 general assembly at Philadelphia, when 
 it was established as one of the tenets 
 of the Quakers, that no person could re- 
 main a member of their society who 
 held a human creature in slavery, thus 
 making a' great public sacrifice of their 
 own interests, purely from moral and 
 religious principle. They were not sat- 
 isfied with the benevolent work of re- 
 storing their natural rights to the unfor- 
 tunate negroes,butthe society of Friends 
 went further, and established schools 
 for the education of their children; and 
 some of the first characters among them- 
 selves volunteered to superintend the 
 course of instruction. 
 
 The first six years of Benjamin's life 
 passed away in calm uniformity; leaving 
 only the placid remembrance of enjoy - 
 1*
 
 10 
 
 ment. In the month of June, 1745, one 
 of his sisters, who had been married 
 some time before, and who had a daugh- 
 ter, came with her infant to spend a few 
 days at her father's. When the child 
 was asleep in the cradle, Mrs West in- 
 vited her daughter to gather flowers in 
 the garden, and committed the infant to 
 the care of Benjamin, during their ab- 
 sence, giving him a fan to flap away the 
 flies from molesting his little charge. 
 Alter some time the child happened 
 to smile in its sleep, and its beauty at- 
 tracted his attention. He looked at it 
 with a pleasure he had never before ex- 
 perienced, and observing some paper on 
 a table, together with pens and red and 
 black ink, he seized them with agitation, 
 and endeavored to delineate a portrait ; 
 although at this period he had never seen 
 an engraving or a picture, and was only 
 in the seventh year of his age.
 
 11 
 
 Hearing the approach pf his mother 
 and sister, he endeavored to conceal 
 what he had been doing ; but the old la- 
 dy observing his confusion, inquired 
 what he was about, and requested him to 
 show her the paper. He obeyed, in- 
 treating her not to be angry. Mrs West, 
 after looking some time at the drawing 
 with evident pleasure, said to her 
 daughter, * I declare he has made a like- 
 ness of little Sally,' and kissed him with 
 much fondness and satisfaction. This 
 encouraged him to say, that if it would 
 give her pleasure, he would make pic- 
 tures of the flowers, which she held in 
 her hand, for the instinct of his genius 
 was now awakened, and he felt that he 
 could imitate the forms of those things 
 which pleased his sight. 
 
 The drawing was shown by Mrs West 
 to her husband, who was delighted with 
 this early indication of talent in his son.
 
 12 
 
 From the first emigration, in 1681, the 
 colony of quakers had continued to 
 thrive with a rapidity unknown to any 
 other European settlements. America 
 had been chosen by their ancestors, as 
 an asylum in which they might enjoy 
 that affectionate intercourse, which their 
 tenets enjoined, free from the military 
 influence, and political jealousies of 
 England. At the birth of Benjamin 
 West the colony had obtained great 
 wealth, and the population was increas- 
 ing rapidly. It was blest in the maxim 
 upon which it had been founded by Wil- 
 liam Penn, and the effects of his benefi- 
 cence were felt throughout the settle- 
 ment. In the houses of the principal 
 families, unlimited hospitality formed a 
 part of their regular economy. It was 
 the custom among those, who resided 
 near the highways, after supper, and the 
 last religious exercise of the evening, to
 
 13 
 
 make a large fire in the hall, and to set 
 out a table with refreshments for such 
 travellers as might have occasion to pass 
 during the night ; and when the families 
 assembled in the morning, they seldom 
 (bund that their tables had been unvis- 
 ited. This w r as particularly the case at 
 Springfield. Poverty was never heard 
 of in the land. 
 
 William Penn and many of his friends 
 traced their lineage to the ancient and 
 noble families of England. In their de- 
 scendants the pride of ancestn was so 
 tempered with the meekness of their re- 
 ligious tenets, that it gave a sort of pa- 
 triarchal dignitv to their benevolence. 
 
 D ./ 
 
 The neighboring Indians mingled safe 
 and harmless among the Friends; and in 
 the annual visits, which they were in the 
 practice of paying to the plantations, 
 they raised their huts in the fields and 
 orchards without asking leave, nor were
 
 14 
 
 they ever molested. When the great 
 founder of the state of Pennsylvania 
 marked out the site of Philadelphia in 
 the woods, he allotted a piece of ground 
 for a public library. It was his opinion 
 that the few hours of relaxation, which 
 the first settlers enjoyed, could not be 
 better improved than in reading good and 
 serious books. It was the design of the 
 quakers to make mankind wiser and 
 better, but they were unfriendly to the 
 cultivation of taste, and no works of im- 
 agination were admitted into their libra- 
 ry. The fine arts were likewise uncul- 
 tivated among them, so that in the 
 whole Christian world, no spot was ap- 
 parently so unlikely to produce a paint- 
 er as Pennsylvania. It might, indeed, 
 be supposed that a youth, reared in the 
 midst of boundless forests, tremendous 
 waterfalls and mountains, whose sum- 
 mits were inaccessible ' to the lightest
 
 15 
 
 foot and wildest wing,' was in the most, 
 favorable situation to imbibe a strong 
 love either of poetry or painting. But 
 beautiful scenery, though it charms the 
 taste, refined and alive to its influence, 
 will not create or inspire the original tal- 
 ent for poetry, painting, or any other of 
 the fine arts. 
 
 Of all the nations of Europe the Swiss 
 are the least poetical, and yet the scen- 
 ery of no other country seems so well 
 calculated as that of Switzerland to 
 awaken the imagination ; and Shak- 
 speare, the greatest of all modern poets, 
 was brought up in one of the least pic- 
 turesque districts of England. 
 
 Soon after the occurrence of the inci- 
 dent we have related, the young artist 
 was sent to a school in the neighborhood. 
 During his hours of leisure he was per- 
 mitted to draw with pen and ink ; for it 
 did not occur to any of the family to pro- 
 vide him with better materials.
 
 16 
 
 In the course of the summer a part)' 
 of Indians came to pay their annual visits 
 to Springfield, and being amused with 
 the sketches of birds and flowers which 
 Benjamin showed them, they taught him 
 to prepare the red and yellow colors 
 with which they painted their orna- 
 ments. 
 
 To these his brother added blue by 
 giving him a piece of indigo, so that he 
 was thus put in possession of the three 
 primary colors. 
 
 The Indians also taught him to be an 
 expert archer, and he was sometimes in 
 the practice of shooting birds for mod- 
 els, when he thought that their plumage 
 would look well in a picture. 
 
 His drawings at length attracted the 
 attention of the neighbors; and some of 
 them happening to regret that the ar- 
 tist had no pencils, he inquired what 
 kind of things these were, and they were
 
 17 
 
 described to him as small brushes made 
 of camel's hair fastened in a quill. As 
 there were, however, no camels in Amer- 
 ica, he could not think of any substitute, 
 till he happened to cast his eyes on a 
 black cat, the favorite of his father; 
 when, in the tapering fur of her tail, 
 he discovered the means of supplying 
 what he wanted. He immediately arm- 
 ed himself with his mother's scissors 
 and laying hold of Grimalkin with all 
 due caution, and a proper attention to 
 her feelings, cut off the fur at the end 
 of her tail, and with this made his first 
 pencil. But the tail only furnished him 
 .with one, which did not last long, and he 
 soon stood in need of a further supply. 
 He then had recourse to the animal's 
 back, his depredations upon which were 
 so frequently repeated, that his father 
 observed the altered appearance of his 
 favorite, and lamented it, as the effect
 
 18 
 
 of disease. The artist, with suitable 
 marks of contrition, informed him of the 
 true cause ; and the old gentleman was 
 so much amused with his ingenuity, that 
 if he reproved him, it was certainly not 
 in anger. 
 
 In the following year, Mr Pennington, 
 a merchant of Philadelphia, who was re- 
 lated to the West family, came to pay 
 a visit to Benjamin's father. This gen- 
 tleman was also a quaker, and although 
 very strict in his notions, was a man of 
 pleasant temper and indulgent disposi- 
 tion. He noticed the drawings of birds 
 and flowers round the room, unusual or- 
 naments in the house of a quaker ; and 
 heard with surprise they were the work 
 of his little cousin. He did not pretend 
 to be a good judge of painting,. but he 
 thought them wonderful productions for 
 a boy only entering on his eighth year, 
 and being told with what poor materials
 
 19 
 
 little Benjamin had been furnished, he 
 promised to send him a box of paints and 
 pencils from the city. On his return 
 home he fulfilled his engagement, and at 
 the bottom of the box placed several 
 pieces of canvas prepared for the pain- 
 ter, and six beautiful engravings. 
 
 The arrival of the box was an era in 
 the history of the painter and his art. 
 It was received with feelings of delight 
 which cannot be described. He opened 
 it, and in the colors, the oils and the pen- 
 cils, found all his wants supplied, even 
 beyond his utmost conception. But 
 who can tell the surprise with which he 
 beheld the engravings ; he who had 
 never seen any picture but his own draw- 
 ings, nor knew that such an art as the 
 engraver's existed ! He sat over the 
 box with admiring eyes ; his mind was 
 in a flutter of joy, and he could not 
 refrain from constantly touching the dif-
 
 20 
 
 ferent articles to ascertain if they were 
 real. 
 
 At night he placed the box on a chair 
 near his bed, and as often as he forgot 
 his prize, in sleep, he started suddenly 
 and stretched out his hand to satisfy 
 himself that the possession of such a 
 treasure was not merely a pleasing 
 dream. He rose at the dawn of day, 
 and carried the box to a room in the 
 garret, where he spread a canvas, pre- 
 pared a pallet, and immediately began 
 to imitate the figures in the engravings. 
 Enchanted by his employment, he for- 
 got the school hours, and joined the fam- 
 ily at dinner without mentioning the 
 manner in which his forenoon had been, 
 passed. 
 
 In the afternoon he again repaired to 
 his study in the garret, and for several 
 successive days he thus withdrew and 
 devoted himself to painting. The
 
 21 
 
 schoolmaster, observing his absence, 
 sent to ask the cause of it. Mrs West 
 recollected that she had seen Benjamin 
 going upstairs every morning, and sus- 
 pecting that the box occasioned his neg- 
 lect of the school, went to the garret and 
 found him employed on the picture. 
 Her anger was appeased by the sight of 
 his performance, and changed to a very 
 different feeling. He had not conde- 
 scended to copy a single engraving, 
 but had selected the most striking fea- 
 tures from a number, and by combining 
 and arranging them with wonderful 
 taste and accuracy, had composed a pic- 
 ture as complete, in the arrangement of 
 the several parts and coloring of the 
 whole, as the most skilful artist could 
 have painted, under the direction of a 
 finished master. 
 
 His mother kissed him with transports 
 of affection, and assured him that she
 
 22 
 
 would not only intercede with his father 
 to pardon him for having absented him- 
 self from school, but would go herself to 
 the master, and beg that he might not 
 be punished. This delightful kindness 
 and approbation, thus bestowed, encour- 
 aged the young painter to greater ef- 
 forts ; but who will not regret that the 
 mother's over anxious admiration would 
 not suffer him to finish the picture, lest 
 he should spoil what she thought was 
 already perfect, even with half the can- 
 vas bare. Sixtyseven years afterwards 
 Mr West had the gratification of seeing 
 this piece in the same room, with his 
 sublime painting of ' Christ Rejected, 7 
 on which occasion he declared that there 
 were inventive touches of art in his first 
 juvenile essay, which with all the know- 
 ledge and experience he afterwards ac- 
 quired, he had never been able to surpass.
 
 23 
 
 In the course of a few days after the 
 affair of the painting,Mr Pennington paid 
 another visit to Mr West, and was so 
 pleased with the effect of his present and 
 the promising talents of his young rel- 
 ative, that he intreated the old gentle- 
 man to a<llow Benjamin to accompany him 
 for a few days to Philadelphia. This 
 was cheerfully agreed to, and the ar- 
 tist felt himself almost as much delight- 
 ed with the journey as with the box of 
 colors. Everything in the ^town filled 
 him with astonishment; but the view of 
 the shipping, which was entirely new, 
 particularly attracted his eye, and inter- 
 ested his imagination. When the first 
 emotion of his pleasure and wonder had 
 subsided, he applied to Mr Pennington 
 to procure him materials for painting. 
 That gentleman was desirous of getting 
 possession of the first picture, and had 
 only resigned his claims, in consideration
 
 24 
 
 of the mother's feelings, and on being 
 assured that the next picture should 
 be painted purposely for him. The 
 materials were procured, and the artist 
 composed a landscape, which compre- 
 hended a picturesque view of a river, 
 with vessels on the water, and cattle 
 pasturing on the bank. 
 
 While he was engaged in this picture 
 an incident occurred which though trivial 
 in itself, had so much influence, in giv- 
 ing a decided bent to his genius, that 
 it ought not to be omitted. 
 
 Samuel Shoemaker, an intimate 
 friend of Mr Pennington, and one of the 
 principal merchants in Philadelphia, 
 happened to meet in the street with 
 one Williams, a painter, carrying home a 
 picture. He was struck with the beauty 
 of the painting, and inquired if it was 
 intended for sale, and being told that 
 it was already sold, he ordered another
 
 to be painted for himself. When the 
 painting was finished, he requested Mr 
 Williams to carry it to his friend's, Mr 
 Pennington's house, in order that it 
 might be shown to young West. He 
 was so much astonished at the sight of it, 
 and betrayed so much emotion and 
 delight, that Mr William's observation 
 was attracted toward him, no doubt 
 with a good deal of interest and sym- 
 pathy. He entered into conversation 
 with him, an$l inquired if he had read 
 any books, or the lives "of great men. 
 Young West told him that he had read 
 the Bible, and was well acquainted with 
 the history of Adam, Joseph, David, 
 Solomon, and the other great and good 
 men whose actions are recorded in 
 the Holy Scriptures. Williams was 
 much pleased with the simplicity of 
 the answer; and it might have oc- 
 curred to him that histories more in- 
 2
 
 26 
 
 teresting have never been written, or 
 written so well. Turning to Mr Pen- 
 nington, who was present, he asked if 
 Benjamin was his son, advising him at 
 the same time to indulge him in his pres- 
 ent pursuits, assuring him that he was 
 no common boy; he afterwards lent him 
 the works of Fresnoy and Richardson on 
 painting and invited him to see his pic- 
 tures and drawings. The effect which 
 these books had on the imagina- 
 tion of West, finally decided his 
 destination. 'He was allowed to carry 
 them with him into the country; and 
 his father and mother soon observed a 
 great change in his style of conversa- 
 tion produced by his study of the books 
 we have named their effect on his mind, 
 nray be conceived of, by the following 
 incident. Soon after the artist had re- 
 turned to Springfield, one of his school 
 fellows, on a Saturday's half-holiday,
 
 27 
 
 engaged him to give up a party at trap- 
 ball to ride with him to one of the neigh- 
 boring farms. At the time appointed the 
 boy came, with the horse saddled. 
 West inquired how he was to ride, ' Be- 
 hind me,' said the boy ; but Benjamin, 
 full of the dignity of the profession to 
 which he felt himself destined, answered 
 that he would never ride behind any body. 
 ' O! very well then,' said the good na- 
 tured boy, < you may take the saddle, 
 and I will get up behind you.' Thus 
 mounted they proceeded on their way; 
 and the boy began to tell Benjamin that 
 bis father intended to send him to be an 
 apprentice. 'In what business?' inquir- 
 ed West. ' A tailor,' answered the boy. 
 'Surely, said West you will never follow 
 that trade;' telling him at the same time 
 that it was fit employment only for fe- 
 males. The boy was a shrewd sound- 
 headed lad and defended his fathers
 
 28 
 
 choice very stoutly, saying that the per- 
 son with whom he was to learn the bus- 
 iness was much respected by all his 
 neighbors. 
 
 1 But what do you intend to be Benja- 
 min?' West answered, that he should like 
 to be a painter. 'A painter!' exclaimed 
 the boy, ' what sort of a trade is a pain- 
 ter ? I never heard of such a thing.' 
 'A painter, ' said West, ' is a companion, 
 for kings and emperors. ' ' Surely you 
 are mad, ' replied the boy, ' for there are 
 no such people in America; ' ' Very true, 
 answered Benjamin, ( but there are plen- 
 ty in other parts of the world. ' The 
 other still more amazed, repeated in a 
 tone of greater surprise, 4 you are surely 
 quite mad. ' To this the young artist, 
 still proud of his own choice, replied by 
 asking him if he really intended to be 
 a tailor. ' Most certainly,' answered the 
 other. ' Then you may ride by your- 
 self, for I will no longer keep your com-
 
 29 
 
 pany, ' said West, jumping from the 
 horse, and immediately returned home. 
 
 The report of this incident, with the 
 affair of the picture, which had occa- 
 sioned his absence from school, and visit 
 to Philadelphia, made a great impression 
 on the boys in the neighborhood of 
 Springfield. All their accustomed sports 
 were neglected, and their play hours de- 
 voted to drawing with chalk and oker. 
 Benjamin it must be confessed was the 
 most expert amons; them, but he often 
 afterwards declared, that, according to 
 his recollection, many of his juvenile 
 companions, evinced a degree of taste 
 and skill in this exercise, that would 
 have done no discredit to the students 
 of any regular academy. 
 
 Not far from the residence of Mr 
 West a cabinet maker had a shop, in 
 which Benjamin sometimes amused him- 
 self with the tools of the. workmen. One
 
 . 30 
 
 day several large and beautiful boards of 
 poplar tree were brought to it ; and he 
 happening to observe that they would 
 answer very well for drawing on, the 
 owner gave him two or three of them for 
 the purpose, and he drew figures, and 
 compositions on them with ink, chalk 
 and charcoal. 
 
 Mr Wayne, a gentleman of the neigh- 
 borhood, having soon after occasion to 
 call at his father's, noticed the boards 
 in the room, and was so much pleased 
 with the drawing, that he begged the 
 young artist to allow him to take two or 
 three of them home, which, as but little 
 value was set on them, was thought no 
 great favor, either by the painter or his 
 father. Next day Mr Wayne called 
 again, and after complimenting Benja- 
 min on his taste and proficiency, gave 
 him a dollar for each of the boards, 
 svhich he had taken away, and intended 
 to preserve.
 
 31 
 
 Doctor Jonathan Morris, another 
 neighbor, soon after also made him a 
 present of a few dollars to buy materials 
 to paint with. These were the first pub- 
 lic patrons of the artist. 
 
 About twelve months after the visit to 
 Philadelphia, Mr Flower, one of the 
 justices of the county of Chester, who 
 * possessed some taste for painting, re- 
 quested Mr West to allow Benjamin to 
 spend a few weeks at his house. A 
 short time before, this gentleman had 
 lost an amiable wife, to whom he was 
 most tenderly attached ; and he resolved 
 to show his respect to her memory by 
 devoting his attention exclusively to the 
 improvement of his children ; for this 
 purpose he had sent to England for a 
 governess qualified to undertake the ed- 
 ucation of his daughters, and he had the 
 good fortune to obtain a lady eminently 
 fitted for the trust. She arrived only a
 
 32 
 
 few days before the young' artist but 
 she soon discovered the bent of Benja- 
 min's genius, and the strength and de- 
 termination of his -mind. Finding him 
 unacquainted with any other books than 
 the Bible, and the works of Richardson 
 and Fresnoy, she frequently invited him 
 to sit with her pupils, and during the 
 intervals of their tasks, she read to him 1 
 the most striEing passages from ancient 
 history and poetry. It was from this 
 intelligent women that he jbeard, for 
 the first time, of the Greeks and Ro- 
 mans, and the impression which the 
 history of those illustrious nations made 
 on his mind, was answerable to her 
 expectations. 
 
 Among the acquaintance of Mr Flow- 
 er was a Mr Ross, a lawyer in the town 
 of Lancaster, a placeJ^P that time re- 
 markable for its wealth, and which had 
 the reputation of posseting the best and
 
 
 most intelligent society in America, 
 those who knew how to distinguish real 
 genius, from mere mechanical art. It 
 was exactly in such a place that such a 
 youth as Benjamin West was likely to 
 meet with that flattering attention, 
 which is the greatest stimulous to juve- 
 nile talent. The wife of Mr Ross was 
 greatly admired for her beauty, and she 
 had several children who were so remark- 
 able in this respect as to be the objects 
 of general notice. One day when Mr 
 Flower was dining with them he advis- 
 ed his friend to have their portraits 
 taken, and mentioned that they would 
 be excellent subjects for young West. 
 They accordingly obtained permission 
 of Mr West for the little arti^Pto go 
 to Lancaster, for the purpose of taking 
 the likeness of Mrs Ross and her fam- 
 ily so great was his success in this 
 undertaking that ir was with difficulty 
 2*
 
 p 
 
 34 
 
 be could answer the demand for por- 
 traits; among those who applied to him 
 was a person named William Henry, an 
 able mechanic, who had acquired a 
 handsome fortune by his profession of a 
 gunsmith. Oil examining the young 
 artist's performance, he told him that, 
 if he could paint as well he w-ould not 
 waste his time on portraits, but would 
 devote his time and talents to some 
 historical piece, and mentioned the 
 death of Socrates as a good subject, 
 The painter knew nothing of the history 
 of the philosopher; and upon confessing 
 his ignorance, Mr Henry, took a volume 
 of Plutarch's lives and read to him the 
 account given bv that writer of this af- 
 
 ' 
 
 fecting story. The description produc- 
 ed a great effect on the imagination of 
 young West, and induced him to make 
 a drawing, which Mr Henry approved 
 and requested him to paint. West said 

 
 35 
 
 he should be happy to undertake the 
 task, but having only painted faces, and 
 men clothed, he should be unable to do 
 justice to the -slave, who presented the 
 poison to Socrates, and which he 
 thought ought to be naked. Henry had 
 among his workmen a very handsome 
 young man, and without hesitating a 
 moment he sent for him into the room. 
 On his entrance he pointed him out to 
 West, and said * there is your model.' 
 The appearance of the young man, 
 whose arms and breast were naked, con- 
 vinced the artist that he had only to 
 look into nature for the best of models. 
 When the death of Socrates was finish- 
 ed, it attracted much attention, and led 
 to his fortunate acquaintance with Dr 
 Smith, the provost of the college at 
 Philadelphia. After seeing the picture 
 and conversing with the artist, he offer- 
 
 O 7 
 
 ed -to undertake- <to make him, to a cer-
 
 36 
 
 tain degree, acquainted with classical 
 literature; while at the same time he 
 would give him such a sketch of the 
 taste and spirit of antiquity as would 
 have all the effect of the regular educa- 
 tion requisite for a painter. 
 
 Old Mr West readily consented that 
 his son should go for some time to Phil- 
 adelphia to take advantage of the pro- 
 vost's instructions, and accordingly af- 
 ter returning home for a few days, Ben- 
 jamin went to the capital, and resided 
 at the house of his brother-in-law, Mr 
 Clarkson, a gentleman who had been 
 educated at Leyden, and was much re- 
 spected for the intelligence of his con- 
 versation and the propriety of his man- 
 ners. 
 
 The plan of study which provost 
 Smith had formed for his pupil was ex- 
 tremely judicious. He regarded him 
 as destined to be a painter; and on this
 
 37 
 
 account did not impose upon him those 
 grammatical exercises of language, 
 which are usually required from the 
 young student of the classics, but direct- 
 ed his attention to those incidents which 
 were likely to interest his fancy and fur- 
 nish him at some future time subjects 
 for the easel. In the midst of this 
 course of education the artist happened 
 to be taken ill of a slight fever, and 
 when it had subsided, he was in so weak 
 a state as to be obliged to keep his bed, 
 and to have the room darkened. In this 
 situation he remained several days, with 
 no other light than what was admitted 
 by the cracks in the window shutters, 
 which had the usual effect of expanding 
 the pupils of his eyes to such a degree, 
 that he could distinctly see every object 
 in the room, which to others appeared 
 in perfect obscurity. While he was 
 thus lying in bed, he observed the shad-
 
 38 
 
 owy form of a white cow enter at one 
 side of the roof, and walking over the 
 bed, gradually vanish at the other. 
 This appearance surprised him not a 
 iittle, and he feared his disease had de- 
 ranged his mind, which his sister also 
 suspected, when he related to her what 
 he had seen. She went immediately 
 and informed her husband, who accom- 
 panied her back to the chamber; and as 
 they were standing near the bed West 
 repeated the story; declaring, at the 
 same moment, that he saw several lit- 
 tle pigs running along 'the roof. This 
 confirmed their fears, that he was delir- 
 ious, and they sent for a physician. 
 But the doctor could discover no symp- 
 toms of a fever, the pulse was regular, 
 the skin moist and cool, the thirst abat- 
 ed, and everything about the patient 
 favorable to his recovery. Still the 
 painter persisted in his story, and assur-
 
 39 
 
 ed them that he then saw the figures of 
 several of their mutual friends passing 
 on the roof over his bed; and that he 
 even saw fowls picking, and the very 
 stones of the street. All this time his 
 friends could discern nothing of all he 
 described, their eyes being unaccustom- 
 ed to the gloom of the chamber, and 
 the learned physician himself began to 
 suspect that his patient was really delir- 
 ious, and prescribing a composing mix- 
 ture, which the painter submitted to 
 swallow, took his leave, requesting Mrs 
 Clarkson and her husband to come a- 
 way and not disturb the painter. Af- 
 ter they had all left him, curiosity over- 
 came the effect oT the medicine, and 
 the artist got up, determined to find out 
 the cause of this strange appearance. 
 In a short time he di^^vered a knot- 
 hole in one of the wind^B^hutters, and 
 upon placing his hand oro it, the vis-
 
 40 
 
 ionary paintings on the roof disappear- 
 ed. He then began to think there 
 must be some simple natural cause for 
 what he had seen; and having found out 
 the way in which it acted, he called 
 his sister and her husband into the room 
 and explained it to them. When able 
 to go down stairs Mr Clarkson gave 
 him permission to cyt a horizontal hole 
 in the shutter in order to obtain, on the 
 wall, a representation of the buildings on 
 the other side of the street. The effect 
 was as he expected, but, to his aston- 
 ishment, the objects appeared inverted, 
 and every one who passed, to be walk- 
 ing on his head. He did not then un- 
 d^rstand how this m^ht be remedied, 
 but on his return soon after to his 
 father's, he had a box made with a hole 
 in one of the sides, and adverting to the* 
 reflectiva pogBof the mirror, he con- 
 trived, withourever having heard of the
 
 41 
 
 instrument, to invent a Camera, which 
 he found of great use to him, as the 
 means of studying the picturesque ap- 
 pearance of nature, and he hailed the 
 discovery as a revelation to promote his 
 improvement in the art of painting. 
 
 In this favorable state of things he 
 attained his IGth year, when his father 
 became anxious to seP him settled in 
 some established business, for though 
 he had been indulgent to the genius of 
 his son, the old gentleman was sensible 
 that the profession of a painter was not 
 only precarious, but regarded unfavora- 
 bly by thereligh >"ty of which he 
 was a member: a; was anxious on 
 his son's accounqQPRRFcm his ov 
 avoid those observations to w.jhicl 
 was exposed by the freedom he had 
 hitherto granted to the predilections of 
 Benjamin. He therefore-consulted sev- 
 
 V 
 
 eral of his neighbors on tBf* subject; and
 
 a meeting of the society of Friends in 
 the vicinity was called, to consider pub- 
 licly, what ought to be the destiny of 
 his son. 
 
 The assembly mfet in the meeting 
 house near Springfield, and after much 
 debate, approaching to altercation, a 
 man of the name of John Williamson 
 rose and deliver* a very extraordinary 
 speech upon the Mi!>ject. He was 
 much respected by all present, for the 
 purity and integrity of his life, and 
 enjoyed great influence on account of 
 his superior natural wisdom, and an as- 
 tonishing gift of eloquence, as a public 
 preacher among the Friends. 
 
 He pointed to old Mr West and his 
 wife, and expatiated on the blameless 
 reputation they had so long maintained, 
 and merited so vrell. 
 
 * They hajBJhad,' said he, ' ten chil- 
 dren whom tH!y have carefully brought
 
 43 
 
 up in the fear of God and in the chris- 
 tian religion, and the youth whose lot 
 in life we are now convened to consid- 
 er, is Benjamin, their youngest child, 
 It is known to you all that God is pleas-* 
 ed, from time to time, to bestow upon 
 some men extraordinary gifts of mind, 
 and you need not be told by how wonder- 
 ful 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 bestow- 
 ed on this youth a genius for the art, and 
 can we believe that Omniscience be- 
 stows his gifts , but for great purpos- 
 es? What God has given, who shall 
 dare to throw away? Let us not es- 
 timate almighty wisdom by ournotions; 
 let us not presume to arraign his judg- 
 ment by our ignorance, but in the evi- 
 dent propensity af the young man, be 
 assured that* 6 se e an iinpulse of the
 
 44 
 
 divine hand operating towards some 
 high and beneficent end.' 
 
 The effect of this argument, and the 
 lofty manner in which it was delivered, 
 induced the assembly to agree that the 
 young artist should follow the bent of his 
 genius; and a private meeting of the 
 Friends was appointed to be holden at 
 his father's house, at which the youth 
 himself was requested to be present, in 
 order to receive the assent and blessing 
 of the society. 
 
 On the day of meeting, the great room 
 was put in order, and a numerous com- 
 pany of both sexes assembled. Benja- 
 min was placed by his father, and the 
 men and \\omen took their respective 
 i'omisH|each side. After sitting some 
 lime in silence, one of the women arose 
 and^addn ssed the mating, on the wis- 
 dom of God and the ^rious occasions 
 
 in which he selected fro^ among his 
 
 * 
 
 ^
 
 . 45 
 
 creatures the agents of his goodness. 
 When she had concluded, John Will- 
 iamson also arose, and in a speech of 
 most impressive oratory, resumed the 
 topic, which had been the subject of his 
 former address. At the conclusion of I 
 this address, the women rose and kissed 
 the young artist, and the men one by 
 one, laid their hands on his head, and/ 
 prayed that the Lord might verify ii 
 his life the value of the gift which hac 
 induced them, in despite of their relig- 
 ious tenets, to allow him to cultivate 
 the faculties of his genius. The his- 
 tory of no other individual affords an in- 
 cident so extraordinary. It may be 
 added that a more beautiful instance of 
 liberality is not to be foi;nd in the rec- 
 ords of any religious society. There is 
 something at once simple and venerable 
 in the humility with which they regard- 
 ed their own peculiar principles, con-
 
 46 
 
 trasted with the sublime view they ap- 
 peared to take of the wisdom and prov- 
 idence of the Deity. It would be im- 
 possible to convey any idea of the sen- 
 timents and feelings with which it af- 
 fected the youth who was the object of 
 its exercise. It inspired him with a 
 lofty desire to attain eminence in his 
 profession, nor did he forget in the hon- 
 ors which he afterwards received from 
 all polished nations, that he was author- 
 ized bv his friends and his religion, to 
 cultivate the art by which he obtained 
 such distinctions, not for his own sake, 
 but as an Instrument chosen by Provi- 
 dence to dejseminate the arts of peace, 
 to draw the ties of affection closer, and 
 diffuse over a \vider extent of communi- 
 ty the interests and blessings of pater- 
 nal love. 
 
 When it was determined among tbe 
 Friends that Benjamin West should be
 
 47 
 
 allowed to cultivate the art of paining, 
 he went to Lancaster, but was hastily 
 recalled by a severe domestic misfor- 
 tune. His mother was seized by a dan- 
 gerous illness, and being conscious that 
 she could not live long, she requested 
 that he might be sent for home. 
 
 Benjamin hastily obeyed the sum- 
 mons, but before he reached the house, 
 her strength was exhausted, and she 
 was only able to express by her counte- 
 nance the satisfaction with which she 
 saw him approach the bed, before she 
 expired. 
 
 Her funeral, and the distress which 
 the event occasioned to her family, by 
 all of whom she was most tenderly be- 
 
 / 
 
 loved, detained the young artist some 
 time at his father's. About the end of 
 August 1756, however, he took his final 
 departure, and went to Philadelphia. 
 But before proceeding with the nar-
 
 48 
 
 rative of his professional career, it is 
 neccessary to refer to the public tran- 
 sactions of that period, by which his 
 sensibility was powerfully excited. 
 
 After the destruction of Gen. Brad- 
 dock's army the Pennsylvanians being 
 alarmed at the defenceless state in 
 which they were placed by that calam- 
 ity, they resolved to raise a militia force; 
 and Mr Wayne, who has been already 
 mentioned as a friend to West, was ap- 
 pointed colonel of the regiment raised 
 in Chester county. This defensive 
 measure was painfully felt by the peace- 
 ful quakers, as it indicated an alteration 
 in their harmless manners and habits, 
 so averse to war and strife. West, 
 among others, Went to view the first 
 muster of the troops under the com- 
 mand of Col. Wayne, and the sight of 
 the men in arms, their purpose and ar- 
 ray, warmed his lively imagination with
 
 49 
 
 military ardor. With a son of Colonel 
 Wayne, a boy of his own age, with 
 whom he had become acquainted, he 
 procured a gun, and determined also to 
 be a soldier. Younsj Wavne was regu- 
 
 ti 
 
 larly drilled, and he in turn exercised 
 West, who being alert and active, soon 
 obtained a decided superiority. But 
 what different destinies awaited them ! 
 West attained, in the exercise of a peace- 
 ful art, an enviable reputation,and Wayne 
 who was then his inferior in military skill 
 became afterwards an illustrious com- 
 mander, and partook, with Washington, 
 of the glory of having established the 
 Independence of America. West soon 
 after his drilling under young Wayne, 
 visited Lancaster; and the boys of that 
 town having formed themselves into a 
 little company, made choice of him for a 
 commander. Among those who caught 
 
 the military spirit was his brother Sam- 
 3
 
 50 
 
 nel, who possessed a bold and enterpris- 
 ing disposition. He was six years older 
 than Benjamin, and was appointed Cap- 
 tain in Colonel Wayne's army, under the 
 command of General Forbes, who was 
 sent to repair the disasters which had 
 happened to the unfortunate Braddock; 
 and to search for the relics oi* his army. 
 As the European soldiers were not so 
 well qualified to explore the forests, Capt. 
 West w : as appointed, with his company 
 of American sharp-shooters to assist in 
 the execution of this duty, and a party 
 of Indian warriors were requested to 
 conduct him to the places where the 
 bones of the slain were likely to be found. 
 In this solemn and affecting duty, several 
 officers belonging to the British regiment 
 accompanied the detachment, and with 
 them major sir Peter Halket, who had 
 lost his father and brother in the fatal 
 destruction of the army. It might have
 
 61 
 
 been thought a hopeless task that he 
 should have been able to select their re- 
 mains from the common relics of the 
 other soldiers; but he was induced to 
 think otherwise, as one of the Indian 
 warriors assured him that he had seen an 
 officer fall near a remarkable tree, which 
 he thought he could still discover, telling 
 him at the same time, that the incident 
 was impressed on his memory by ob- 
 serving a young soldier, who in running 
 to the officer's assistance, was also shot 
 dead on reaching the spot and fell across 
 the other's body. 
 
 The major had a painful conviction 
 
 in his own mind that the two officers 
 
 were his father and brother, and, indeed, 
 
 it was chiefly owing to his anxiety on 
 
 the subject, that this pious expedition 
 
 was undertaken. Capt. West and his 
 
 companions proceeded through the 
 
 woods, and along the banks of the river
 
 52 
 
 towards the scene of battle. The In- 
 dians regarded the expedition as a reli- 
 gous service, and guided the troops with 
 awe, and in profound silence. The sol- 
 diers were affected with sentiments not 
 less serious, and as they explored the 
 beu ildering mazes of those vast forests, 
 their hearts were often melted with in- 
 expressible sorrow, for they frequently 
 found skeletons lying across the trunks 
 of fallen trees, a mournful proof to their 
 imaginations that the men who sat there 
 had perished of hunger, in vainly at- 
 tempting to find their way to the plan- 
 tations. Sometimes their feelings were 
 raised to the utmost pitch of horror, by 
 the sight of sculls and bones scattered 
 on the ground a certain indication that 
 the bodies had been devoured by wild 
 beasts; and in other places they saw the 
 blackness of ashes amidst the relics 
 the tremendous evidence of atrocious* 
 Indian rites.
 
 63 
 
 At length they reached a turn of the 
 river, not far from the principal scene 
 of destruction, and the Indian who re- 
 membered the death of the two officers, 
 stopped; the detachment also halted. 
 He then looked round in search of some 
 object, which might recal distinctly his 
 recollection of the ground, and suddenly 
 darted into the wood. The soldiers 
 rested their arms without speaking. A 
 shrill cry was soon after heard, and the 
 other guides made signs to the troops to 
 follow them to the spot from which it 
 came. In the course of a short time 
 they reached the Indian warrior, who 
 by his cry had announced to his compan- 
 ions that he had found the place where 
 he was posted on the day of battle. As 
 the troops approached, he pointed to the 
 tree under which the officers had fallen. 
 Capt. West halted his men round the 
 spot, and with Sir Peter Halket, and
 
 the other officers, formed a circle, while 
 the Indians removed the leaves which 
 thickly covered the ground. The skel- 
 etons were found, as the Indian expect- 
 ed, lying across each other. The offi- 
 cers having looked at them some time, 
 the major said, that as his father had 
 an artificial tooth, he thought he might 
 be able to ascertain if they were indeed 
 his bones and those of his brother. The 
 Indians were therefore ordered to re- 
 move the skeleton of the youth, and to 
 br'mz to view that of the old officer. 
 
 ~ 
 
 This was immediately done, and after 
 a short examination Major Halket ex- 
 claimed, 'It is my father,' and fell back 
 into the arms of his companions. The 
 pioneers then dug a grave, and the bones 
 were laid in it together, a highland plaid 
 was laid over them, and they were in- 
 terred with the customary honors. 
 The gloom of the vast forest, the na-
 
 55 
 
 ked and simple Indians supporting the 
 skeletons, the grief of the son on recog- 
 nizing the relics of his father, the sub- 
 dued melancholy of the spectators, and 
 the picturesque garb of the Pennsylva- 
 niaii sharp shooters, were ever after 
 present to the imagination of West as 
 one of the most affecting occurrences 
 under which the service was ever per- 
 formed. 
 
 On his return to Philadelphia, he 
 again resided with Mr Clarkson, his 
 brother-in-law, and provost Smith in 
 *he evenings continued to direct his 
 studies. While his leisure hours were 
 thus profitably employed, his reputation 
 as a portrait painter was rapidly extend- 
 ed, and he looked forward to the time, 
 when he might be enabled, by the fruits 
 of his own industry, to visit the great 
 scenes of the tine arts in Europe, and 
 ihe care with which he treasured the
 
 56 
 
 money that he received for bis portraits, 
 was rewarded even at the time with the 
 assurance of realizing his expectations. 
 The prices which he at first fixed for his 
 portraits, were two guineas and a half a. 
 head, and five guineas for a half length. 
 While he was thus employed on por- 
 traits a gentleman of the name of Cox 
 called on him to agree for a likeness of 
 his daughter, and a portrait which West 
 had made of his friend and patron, Dr 
 Smith, attracted his attention. It ap- 
 peared to him to evince such a taste 
 for historical painting, that instead of 
 then determining anything respecting 
 his daughter's portrait, he gave an order 
 for an historical picture, allowing the 
 artist himself to choose the subject. He 
 made choice of the trial of Susannah ; 
 for in the course of reading the Bible to 
 his mother some time before, he had 
 been led to think the trial of Susannah
 
 was a fine subject. He made his can- 
 vas about the size of a half length por- 
 trait, on which he introduced no fewer 
 than forty figures. It is not known 
 what has become of this painting, but 
 in point of composition, Mr West was 
 of opinion that, the Trial of Susannah 
 was superior to the Death of Socrates. 
 But although West found himself con- 
 stantly employed in Philadelphia, he 
 was sensible that he could not expect to 
 increase his prices, if he continued con- 
 stantly in the same place; he was also 
 very desirous to see more of the world 
 and mankind; and, beyond all, he was 
 profoundly sensible, by this time, that 
 he could not hope to attain eminence in 
 his profession, without inspecting the 
 great masterpieces of art in Europe, and 
 comparing them with his own works, in 
 order to ascertain the extent of his pow- 
 ers. Accordingly, impressed with these 
 3*
 
 58 
 
 considerations, he frugally treasured the 
 earnings of his pencil, that he might un- 
 dertake, in the first place, a profession- 
 al journey from Philadelphia. When 
 he found that the state of his funds en- 
 abled him to undertake the journey, he 
 went to New York. He found society 
 there much less intelligent in matters 
 of taste and knowledge than at Phila- 
 delphia. The population of New York 
 was formed of adventurers from all 
 parts of Europe, who had come thither 
 for the express purpose of making mon- 
 ey, and therefore wholly devoted to 
 mercantile pursuits. Although West 
 found in that city much employment in 
 taking likenesses, destined to be sent 
 across the Atlantic to relations and 
 friends, he met with but few in whom 
 he found any disposition and taste con- 
 genial to his own ; and the eleven 
 months which he passed there contribu-
 
 59 
 
 ted less to the improvement of his mind 
 than might have been expected from a 
 city so flourishing. 
 
 In the year 1759, the harvest in Italy 
 fell far short of the usual crops, and two 
 merchants of Leghorn wrote to their 
 correspondent, Mr Allen, at Philadel- 
 phia, to send them a cargo of wheat and 
 flour. Provost Smith hearing that Mr 
 Allen intended sending out his son com- 
 mander of the vessel, immediately wait- 
 ed on the old gentleman, and begged 
 him to allow West to accompany him, 
 which he cheerfully agreed to, and the 
 provost immediately wrote to his pupil 
 at New York on the subject. In the 
 meantime, West had heard there was a 
 vessel at Philadelphia loading for Italy, 
 and had expressed to Mr William Kelly, 
 a merchant, who was then sitting to him 
 for his portrait, a strong desire to avail 
 himself of this opportunity to visit the
 
 60 
 
 fountain head of the arts. Before this 
 period, he had raised his terms for a half 
 length portrait to ten guineas, by which 
 he acquired a sum of money sufficient 
 to defray the expenses of a short excur- 
 sion to Italy. When he had finished 
 Mr Kelly's portrait, that gentleman, in 
 paying him, requested that he would 
 take charge of a letter to his agents in 
 Philadelphia, and deliver it to them him- 
 self, on his return to that city. It stated 
 to the concern to which it was address- 
 ed, that it would be delivered by an in- 
 genious young gentleman, who intended 
 to visit Rome for the purpose of studying 
 the fine arts, and ordered them to pay 
 him fifty guineas as a present from him 
 towards furnishing his stores for the 
 voyage ; an instance of delicate munifi- 
 cence which cannot be too highly ap- 
 plauded. The artist having embarked 
 with young Allen had a speedy and
 
 61 
 
 pleasant passage to Gibraltar, where in 
 consequence of the war then raging, the 
 ship stopped for convoy. After touch- 
 ing at several ports on the coast of 
 Spain, the ship arrived safely at Leg- 
 horn, where mercantile affairs detained 
 Mr Allen some time, and West being 
 impatient to proceed to Rome, bade 
 him adieu. Before his departure from 
 Philadelphia, he had paid into the 
 hands of old Mr Allen the money which 
 he thought would be requisite for his 
 expenses in Italy, and had received 
 from him a letter of credit on Messrs 
 Jackson &, Rutherford. When they 
 were made acquainted with the object 
 of his voyage, and heard his history, they 
 showed him a great deal of attention, 
 and presented him with letters to Car- 
 dinal Albani, and several of the most 
 distinguished characters for learning and 
 taste in Rome; and as he was unacquain-
 
 62 
 
 ted with French or Italian, they recom- 
 mended him to the care of a French 
 courier who had occasion to pass 
 that way. 
 
 When the travellers had reached the 
 last stage of their journey, while their 
 horses were baiting, West walked on 
 alone. It was a beautiful morning; the 
 air was perfectly placid, not a speck of 
 vapor in the sky, and a profound tran- 
 quillity seemed diffused over the land- 
 scape. The appearance of nature was 
 calculated to lighten and elevate the 
 spirits; but the general silence and na- 
 kedness of the scene touched the feel- 
 ings with solemnity approaching to awe. 
 He looked for a spot to rest on, that he 
 might contemplate at leisure a scene at 
 once so noble and so interesting ; and 
 near a pile of ruins fringed and trellissed 
 with ivy, he saw a stone that appeared 
 to be a part of a column. On going
 
 C3 \ / 
 
 towards it, he perceived that it was a 
 mile-stone, and that he was then only 
 eight miles from the capital. It was on 
 the 10th July, 1760, that he arrived at 
 Rome. The French courier conducted 
 him to a hotel, and having mentioned 
 in the house that he was an American, 
 and a quaker, come to study the fine 
 arts, the circumstance seemed so extra- 
 ordinary, that it reached the ears of Mr 
 Robinson, afterwards Lord Grantham, 
 who immediately felt an irresistible de- 
 sire to see him; and who before he had 
 time to dress or refresh himself,paid him 
 a visit, and insisted that he should dine 
 with him. In the course of dinner, that 
 gentleman inquired what letters of in- 
 troduction the artist had brought with 
 him, on looking at them he observed 
 that it was somewhat remarkable that 
 the whole of them should be addressed 
 to his most particular friends, adding
 
 64 
 
 that as he was engaged to meet them at a 
 party in the evening, he expected West 
 would accompany him. This attention 
 and frankness was acknowledged and 
 remembered by the artist, among those 
 fortunate incidents which have rendered 
 the recollection of his past life so pleas- 
 ant as scarcely to leave a wish for any 
 part of it to have been spent otherwise 
 than it was. At the hour appointed, 
 Mr Robinson conducted him to the 
 house of Mr Crispigne, an English gen- 
 tleman who had long resided at Home, 
 where the evening party was held. 
 Among the distinguished persons whom 
 Mr West found in the company, was the 
 celebrated cardinal Albani. His emi- 
 nence, although quite blind, had acquir- 
 ed, by the exquisite delicacy of his 
 touch, and the combining powers of his 
 mind, such a sense of ancient beauty 
 that he excelled all virtuosi then in 
 Rome.
 
 65 
 
 Mr Robinson conducted the artist to 
 the inner apartment, where the cardinal 
 was sitting, and said, ' I have the honor 
 to present a young American, who has a 
 letter of introduction to your eminence, 
 and who has come to Italy for the pur- 
 pose of studying the fine arts. The car- 
 dinal fancying that the American must 
 be an Indian, exclaimed, 'Is he black or 
 white r' and on being told that he was 
 very fair, 'What as fair as I am?' cried the 
 cardinal still more surprised. This lat- 
 ter expression excited a good deal of 
 mirth at the cardinal's expense, for his 
 complexion was of the darkest Italian 
 olive, and West's was uncommonly fair. 
 The cardinal, after some other short 
 questions, invited West to come near 
 him, and running his hands over his 
 features, attracted the attention of the 
 company to the stranger, by the admi- 
 ration he expressed at the form of his
 
 head. This occasioned inquiries re- 
 specting the youth; and the Italians 
 concluding, that as he was an American, 
 he must, of course, have been brought 
 up as a savage, became curious to wit- 
 nes the effect which the works of art 
 contained in the Belvidere and Vatican, 
 would produce on him. The whole 
 company, which consisted of the prin- 
 cipal Roman nobility, and strangers of 
 distinction then in Rome, were interest- 
 ed in the event; and it was arranged 
 that on the following morning they 
 should accompany Mr Robinson and 
 his protege to the palaces. At the 
 hour appointed the company assembled; 
 and a procession, consisting of upwards 
 of thirty of the most magnificent equi- 
 pages in the city, and filled with some 
 of the most learned characters in Eu- 
 rope, conducted the young quaker to 
 view the master-pieces of art. It was
 
 67 
 
 agreed that the statue of Apollo should 
 be first submitted to his view, because 
 it was the most perfect work among all 
 the ornaments of Rome, and of course, 
 the best calculated to produce that ef- 
 fect, which the company were anxious 
 to witness. The statue then stood in 
 a case, enclosed with doors, which could 
 be so opened as to disclose it at once to 
 full view. West was placed in a situa- 
 tion where it was seen to the most ad- 
 vantage, and the spectators arranged 
 themselves on each side. When the 
 keeper threw open the doors, the artist 
 felt himself surprised by a sudden recol~, 
 lection, and without being aware of the 
 force of wliflt lie said, exclaimed, ' My 
 God, how like it is to a young Mohawk 
 warrior !' The Italians, observing his 
 surprise, and hearing but not under- 
 standing the exclamation, requested Mr 
 Robinson to translate to them, what he
 
 68 
 
 said; and they were excessively morti- 
 fied to find that the god of their idolatry 
 was compared to a savage. Mr Rob- 
 inson mentioned to West their disap- 
 pointment, and asked him to give some 
 explanation, by telling them what sort 
 of people the Mohawk Indians were. 
 He described to them their education, 
 their dexterity with the bow and arrow; 
 the admirable elasticity of their limbs; 
 and how much their active life expands 
 the chest, while the quick breathing of 
 their speed in the chase, dilates the 
 nostrils with that apparent consciousness 
 of vigor which is so nobly depicted in 
 the Apollo. ' I have seen them often,' 
 added he, ' standing in that very atti- 
 tude, and pursuing, with an intense eye, 
 the arrow which they had just discharg- 
 ed from the bow.' This explanation 
 did not lose, by Mr Robinson's transla- 
 tion, and the Italians were delighted,
 
 69 
 
 saying that a better criticism had rarely 
 been pronounced on the merits of the 
 statue. a 
 
 The view of the other Threat works 
 
 ~ 
 
 of art did not awaken the same viv- 
 id feelings. In the evening, after visit- 
 ing the palaces, Mr Robinson carried 
 Mr West to see a grand religfeus cere- 
 mony in one of the churches. Before 
 this, he had been acquainted only with 
 me simple worship of the quakers. 
 The pomp of the Roman Catholic^ere- 
 monies was as much beyond his com- 
 prehension, as the overpowering excel- 
 lence of the music surpassed his utmost 
 expectations. Undoubtedly he posses- 
 sed a keen relish for the spectacles and 
 amusements Wf Rome, arising from the 
 simplicity of his education and habits. 
 But neither the Apollo, the Vatican, nor 
 the pomp of the catholic religion, excit- 
 ed his feelings to so great a degree, as
 
 70 
 
 the spectacle which presented itself to 
 his view around the portico of the 
 church. Bred in the universal prosper- 
 ity of Pennsylvania, where the benev- 
 olent were employed in acts of hospitali- 
 ty and mutual kindness, he had never 
 witnessed any spectacle of beggary, nor 
 ha4 he giver heard the name of God ut- 
 tered fb urge an entreaty for alms. 
 Here, however all the lazars and the 
 wretched of Rome were collected *t 
 getfeih, hundreds of young and old in 
 that extreme squalor, nakedness and 
 disease, were seen on all sides, and 
 their importunities and cries, ' for the 
 love of God, and the mercy of Christ !' 
 to relieve them, thrilled in his ears, and 
 smote upon his heart to ch a degree, 
 that his joints became as it were loosen- 
 ed, and his legs scarcely able to support 
 him. As they returned from the church,a 
 woman somewhat advanced in life, and
 
 71 
 
 of a better appearance than most of the 
 beggars, followed them, and Mr West 
 gave her a small piece dl coj$per mon- 
 ey, the first Roman coin which he had 
 
 jtf^B 
 
 received in change, and the value of 
 which was unknown to mjm. Shortly 
 afterward, they were joined%.by some 
 of the Italians, whom they ha^een in 
 the morning, and while they were con- 
 versing together, he felt some one pull 
 Iris coat, and turned round. It was the 
 poor woman to whom he had givefn the 
 piece of copper money. She held out 
 in her hand several smaller pieces; as 
 he did not understand her language, he 
 concluded that she was chiding him for 
 Ifaving given her such a trifle, and col- 
 ored deeply^vith the idea. His Eng- 
 lish friend observing his confusion, in- 
 quired what he had given her, and he 
 answered that he did not know, but it 
 was a piece of money, he had receiv-
 
 72 
 
 ed in change. Robinson after a short 
 
 ' 
 conversation with the beggar, told Mr 
 
 West the* sheHiad asked him for a far- 
 thing, *But a^ you gave her a two pen- 
 ny piecg,' said he, ' she has brought you 
 the change.' This instance of humble 
 honesty, contrasted with the awful mass 
 of nrisej^with which it was united, gave 
 him a favorable idea of the latent segti- 
 ments of the Italians. 
 
 At this time Mengs (a famous Ital- 
 ian artist) was in the height of his pop- 
 ularity, and West was introduced to him 
 
 at the cardinal's villa. He was as much 
 
 
 
 struck as any other person, with the 
 extraordinary circumstance of an Amer- 
 ican coming to study the .fine arts: and 
 begged that Mr West would show him 
 a specimen of his drawing. In return- 
 ing home our artist mentioned to Mr 
 Robinson that as he had never learned 
 to draw, he could not produce any
 
 73 
 
 sketch like those made by other stu- 
 dents; but that he could paint a little, 
 and if Mr Robinson would take the 
 trouble to sit, he would execute his por- 
 trait to show to Mengs^ 1 The proposal 
 was readily acceded to, and it was also 
 agreed, that except to two of their most 
 intimate acquaintances, the undertaking 
 should be kept a profo nd secret. 
 When the picture was finished, it did 
 him great credit, but before showing it 
 to Mengs, it was resolved that the taste 
 and judgment of the public, with re- 
 spect to its merits, should be ascertain- 
 ed. 
 
 Mr Crespigne, one of the two friends 
 entrusted with the secret, lived as a Ro- 
 man gentleman, and twice a year gave 
 a grand assembly at his house, to which 
 all the nobility and strangers of distinc- 
 tion, in Rome, were invited. It was 
 agreed that the portrait should be ex- 
 4
 
 74 
 
 hibited at one of his parties, which hap- 
 pened to take place soon after it was 
 finished. A suitable frame being provid- 
 ed, the painting was hung up in one 
 of the rooms. The first guests who 
 arrived were amateurs and artists, and 
 as they knew that Robinson was sitting 
 to Mengs for his portrait, it was at once 
 thought to be that picture, and they 
 agreed that they had never seen any 
 painting of that artist so well colored. 
 As the guests assembled the portrait be- 
 came more and more the subject of at- 
 tention, and Mr West sat behind on a 
 sofa, equally agitated and delighted by 
 their observations, which Mr Robinson 
 reported to him from time to time. Mr 
 Crespigne seizing the proper moment 
 in their conversation to produce the 
 effect intended, said ' The picture is 
 not painted by Mengs.' 'By whom 
 then ?' vociferated every voice, l for
 
 75 
 
 there is no other painter now in Rome 
 capable of executing anything so good.' 
 * By that young gentleman there,' said 
 Mr Crespigne, turning to West. At 
 once all eyes were bent towards him, 
 and the Italians, in their way, ran and 
 embraced him. Thus did the best judg- 
 es at once, by this picture, acknow- 
 ledge him as only second in his art to 
 the first painter then in Rome. Mengs 
 himself, on seeing the picture, expressed 
 his opinion in terms that did honor to 
 his liberality, and gave the :? artist an ad- 
 vice which he never forgot, nor remem- 
 bered without gratitude. 
 
 He told him the portrait showed, that 
 he had no occasion to learn to paint at 
 Rome ' You have already, sir,' said 
 he, ' the mechanical part of your art: 
 what I would therefore recommend to 
 you, is to see and examine everything 
 deserving of attention here, and after
 
 70 
 
 making a few drawings of about half a 
 dozen of the best statues. 2:0 to Florence, 
 and observe what has been done by art 
 in the collections there, then proceed 
 to Bologna and study the works of Ca- 
 racca; afterwards visit Parma, and ex- 
 amine, attentively, the pictures of Cor- 
 regio; and then go to Venice and view 
 the productions of the great master* 
 there. When you have made this tour, 
 come back to Rome, and paint an his- 
 torical composition, to be exhibited to 
 the RomarMKpublic; and the opinion 
 which will then be formed of your tal- 
 ents, should determine the line of our 
 profession you ouht to follow.' This 
 judicious advice, West found accord so 
 w : ell with his own reflections and prin- 
 ciples, that he resolved to follow it with 
 care and attention. But the thought of 
 being in Rome, and the constant excite- 
 ment arising from extraordinary and in-
 
 77 
 
 tcresting objects, so affected his mind, 
 accustomed to the sober and un'.form 
 habits of the quakers, that si <-p desert- 
 ed his pillow, and he became ill, and 
 constantly feverish. The public took 
 : n interest in his situation. A consul- 
 tation of the best physicians in Rome 
 was held on his case, the result of which 
 was a formal communication to Mr Rob- 
 inson, that his friend must immediately 
 quit the capital, and seek relief in quiet 
 and retirement. Accordingly on the 
 20th of August he returned to Leghorn. 
 
 Messrs Jackson and Rutherford, re- 
 ceived him into their own house, and 
 treated him with a degree of kindness 
 and hospitality that merits for them the 
 honor of being considered among the 
 number of his early patrons. 
 
 His mind being thus relieved from the 
 restless delight which he felt at Rome, 
 together with the bracing effect of sea-
 
 78 
 
 bathing, he was soon in a condition to 
 resume his study in the Capital. But the 
 same overpowering excitement of his 
 feelings and imagination, soon produced 
 a relapse of his former disorder, and com- 
 pelled him to return to I .eghorn, where 
 he was again speedily cured of his fever, 
 but it left him with a painful affection in 
 the ankle, that threatened the loss of the 
 limb. An eminent surgeon, who had 
 introduced many improvements in the 
 treatment of diseased joints, was at this 
 period resident in Florence, and Messrs 
 Jackson and Rutherford wrote to Sir 
 Horace Mann, then British minister at 
 the ducal court, to consult him rela- 
 tive to the case of Mr West: his answer 
 induced them to advise the artist to go to 
 Florence. After a painful period of 
 eleven months confinement to his couch 
 and chamber, he was perfectly and rad- 
 ically cured. A state of pain and disease 
 4*
 
 79 
 
 is adverse to mental improvement; but 
 there were intervals in which Mr West 
 felt his anguish abate, and in which he 
 was not only able to join in the conver- 
 sation of the gentleman to whom he had 
 been recommended, but was able, occa- 
 sionally, to exercise his pencil. When 
 he was so far recovered as to be able to 
 take exercise, and' to endure the fatigue 
 of travelling, a circumstance happened 
 which may be numbered among the many 
 fortunate accidents of his professional 
 career. Mr Mathews, the manager of 
 the important commercial concerns of 
 Messrs Jackson and Rutherford was one 
 of those singular men, very rarely met 
 with in mercantile life, combining the 
 highest degree of literary and elegant 
 accomplishments, with the best talents 
 lor active business. Affairs connected 
 with the business of the house, and a 
 wish to see the principal cities of Italy,
 
 led Mr Mathevvs about the period of Mr 
 West's recovery, to visit Florence, and it 
 was agreed between them that they 
 should together make the tour recom- 
 mended by Mengs. In the mean time 
 the good fortune of West was working 
 to happy effects in another part of the 
 world. The story of Mr Robinson's 
 portrait had made so great a noise among 
 the travellers in Italy, that Messrs Jack- 
 son and Rutherford, in sending back the 
 ship to Philadelphia mentioned it in 
 their letters to Mr Allen. It happened 
 that on the very day this letter reached 
 Mr Allen, Mr Hamilton, then governor 
 of Pennsylvania, and the principal mem- 
 bers of the government, along with the 
 most considerable citizens of Philadel- 
 phia were dining with him. After dinner 
 Mr Allen read the letter to the company, 
 and mentioned the amount of the sum 
 of money which West had paid into
 
 his hands, at the period of his departure 
 from America, adding that it must be 
 pretty far reduced. 13 ut, said he with 
 warmth, ' I regard this joung man as an 
 honor to die country, and as he is the first 
 that America has sent to cultivate the 
 fine arts, he shall not he frustrated in 
 his studies, for I have resolved to write 
 to my correspondents at Leghorn, to 
 give him from myself, whatever money 
 he may require.' Mr Hamilton felt the 
 force of this generous declaration, and 
 said with, equal animation, ' I think ex- 
 actly -as you do, sir, hutyou shall not have 
 all the honor of it, to yourself, and, 
 therefore, I beg that you will consider 
 me, as joining you in the responsibility 
 of the credit.' The consequence of this 
 %\ as, that upon West's going, previously 
 to leaving Florence, to take a small sum 
 of about len pounds from the bankers, a 
 letter was brought in while he was wait-
 
 82 
 
 ing for his money, and the gentleman 
 who opened it, said to him, ' that the 
 contents of the letter would probably 
 afford him unexpected pleasure, as it 
 iustructed him to give him unlimited 
 credit.' A more splendid instance of li- 
 berality is not to he found even in the 
 records of Florence. 
 
 From Florence the artist proceeded 
 to Bologna, and having stayed some 
 time there, carefully inspecting every 
 work of celebrity to which he could ob- 
 tain access, he went on to Venice, vis- 
 iting in his route all the objects which 
 Mengs had recommended to his atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Having completed his tour to the 
 most celebrated repositories of art in It- 
 aly, and enriched his mind and improv- 
 ed his taste by the perusal, rather than 
 the imitation of their best pieces, he 
 returned to Rome, and applied himself
 
 33 
 
 to a minute and assiduous study of the 
 great ornaments of that capital. In the 
 meantime West was carefully furnish- 
 ing his mind by an attentive study of 
 the costume of antiquity, and the beau- 
 ties of the great works of modern gen- 
 ius. In doing this, he regarded Rome 
 only as a university, in which he should 
 graduate ; and, preparatory to taking 
 his degree among the students, he 
 painted a picture of Cimon and Iphige- 
 nia, and, likewise another of Angelica 
 and Madora. The applause which 
 they received justified the opinion which 
 Mengs had so early expressed of his 
 talent, and certainly answered every 
 object for which they were composed. 
 He was honored in consequence, with 
 the marks of academical approbation, 
 usually bestowed on fortunate artists. 
 He then proposed to return to America, 
 with a view to cultivate in his native
 
 84 
 
 | 
 
 country that profession, in, which he had 
 already acquired so much celebrity. 
 At this juncture he received a letter 
 from his father, advising him to go home 
 for a short time before coming to Amer- 
 ica ; for the mother country was at that 
 period still regarded as the home of her 
 American offspring. The advice of his 
 father was in unison with his own 
 wishes. He could hardly have resolved 
 on quitting Italy more opportunely, for 
 Dr Patonne, a Scottish gentleman, of 
 considerable learning, and some taste 
 in painting, was then returning home- 
 ward, and waiting at that time in Rome, 
 until he should be able to meet with a 
 companion. It was therefore agreed 
 that West should be introduced to him; 
 and it was soon after arranged that the 
 doctor should proceed to Florence, 
 while the artist went to take leave of 
 his friends at Leghorn, to express to
 
 85 
 
 them his gratitude for their constant 
 and extraordinary kindness, which he 
 estimated too highly to allow him to 
 think of leaving Italy, without perform- 
 ing this pleasing and honorable pilgrim- 
 age, ft was also agreed between him 
 and his companion, that the doctor 
 should stop a short time at Parma, until 
 West should have completed a copy of 
 the St Jerome of Corregio, which he 
 had begun during his visit to that city 
 with Mr Mathews. 
 
 During their stay at Parma, the acade- 
 my elected him a member, an honor 
 which the academies of Florence and 
 Bologna had previously conferred on 
 Mr West; and it was mentioned to the 
 prince that a young American had made 
 a copy of the St Jerome of Corregio, 
 in a style of excellence such as the old- 
 est academicians had not witnessed. 
 The prince expressed a wish to see this
 
 86 
 
 extraordinary artist, particularly when 
 he heard that he was from Pennsylvania 
 and a quaker. Mr West was accor- 
 dingly informed that a visit from him 
 would be acceptable at court; and it 
 was arranged that he should be intro- 
 duced to his highness by the chief min- 
 ister. Mr West thought that, in a mat- 
 ter of this kind, he should regulate his 
 behnviour by what he understood to be 
 the practice in the court of London; 
 and accordingly, to the astonishment 
 of all the courtiers, he ke t his hat on 
 during the audience. This however, 
 instead of offending the prince, was ob- 
 served with client pleasure, and made 
 his reception more particular and dis- 
 tinguished; for his highness had heard 
 of the peculiar simplicity of the quakers, 
 and of the singularly Christian conduct 
 and principles of William Perm. 
 
 From Parma he proceeded to Genoa,
 
 87 
 
 and thence to Turin; they then proceed- 
 ed to France, but remained no longer in 
 Paris than was necessary to inspect the 
 principal works of the French artists, 
 and the royal collections. Mr West, 
 however, continued long enough to be 
 satisfied, that the true feeling for the 
 fine arts did not exist among the French 
 to that degree he had observed in Italy. 
 He next proceeded to England, where 
 we must reluctantly leave him as this 
 memoir was compiled from materials 
 furnished by himself, and was intended 
 to embrace only that period of his life, 
 previous to his visiting England. The 
 professional life of Mr \Yest constitutes 
 an important part of an historical work, 
 in which the matter of this volume could 
 not have been well introduced. Mr 
 West, in relating the circumstances by 
 which he was led to understand, with- 
 out the aid of an instructor, those rules
 
 88 
 
 of art, which it is the object of schools 
 and academies to teach and diffuse, 
 has conferred a greater benefit on young 
 artists than he could possibly have done 
 by the most ingenious and eloquent 
 lectures on the theory of his profession; 
 and it \vas necessary that the narrative 
 
 */ 
 
 should appear in his own life time, in 
 order that thq truth of the incidents re- 
 lated might not rest on the authority of 
 any biographer.
 
 - - .- ' ..:.;
 
 JB LIB RARE