Benjamin West Early 19th Century Ink Drawing
Item Details
Untitled (landscape), early 19th century
Brown pen ink on paper
Unsigned
Red ink collection stamp for the Joseph I. Imhoff Collection to upper right corner
An early 19th century ink drawing on paper by renowned American portraitist and History painter Benjamin West, P.R.A. (Springfield, PA 1738 – 1820 London). Rendered with intricate brown delineations, this work features a landscape with large rock formations. No visible signature was found on the work. It is marked with a red ink collection stamp to the upper right, for the Joseph I. Imhoff Collection. The drawing is presented under glass with double-matting and housed in a gold-tone gesso and wood frame.
Provenance
The Joseph I. Imhoff Collection.
Benjamin West is best known for his historical, allegorical and American portrait paintings. Encouraged by his parents from an early age, West got deeply immerse into painting and achieved local success at fifteen years old due to his outstanding portraits. He acquired his formal artistic education at Dr. William Smith’s school where he received his first classical training while refining his technique and establishing himself as an acclaimed history painter. Subsequently, he moved to Italy where he was strongly influenced by the Neoclassical movement, studying under the likes of Cardinal Albani, Anton Raphael Mengs and Gavin Hamilton. During the late 18th-century, he consolidated his talent and career becoming a charter member of the Royal Academy of Arts and King George III’s historical painter. In the late years of his life, he provided tutelage to renowned American artists such as Charles Willson Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Trumbull, Ralph Earl, Washington Allston, Thomas Sully and Samuel F. B. Morse. His work is housed in numerous prestigious museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Tate Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among many others.
Condition
- minor wear scattered throughout frame.
Dimensions
- measurement of frame; visible image measures approximately 6.5" W x 8.75" H.
Item #
18DCC800-038
