Double-page obituary of the artist Benjamin West, from The kaleidoscope of 20 March, 1820. West had died 10 March, 1820, aged 82. The obituary is laudatory in tone, and includes accounts of West's childhood in Pennsylvania; his earliest artistic inspirations; West's encouragement from the gunsmith William Henry; his trip to Italy, 1760-1763, and his interactions there with Anton Raphael Mengs and Cardinal Albani; West's success in England and at the Royal Academy; and his visit to post-revolutionary Paris and his association with Napoleon.
Subject Terms:
West, Benjamin, 1738–1820. | West, Benjamin, 1738–1820 -- Childhood and youth. | Henry, William, 1729–1786. | Mengs, Anton Raphael, 1728–1779. | Albani, Alessandro, 1692–1779 -- Art patronage.