Benjamin West
1 portrait of Benjamin West
Benjamin West
by Jonathan Spilsbury
mezzotint, circa 1776-1807
9 1/8 in. x 7 3/4 in. (231 mm x 196 mm) plate size; 12 3/4 in. x 10 in. (325 mm x 255 mm) paper size
Given by Sir Herbert Henry Raphael, 1st Bt, 1913
Reference Collection
NPG D19848
Sitterback to top
- Benjamin West (1738-1820), History painter and President of the Royal Academy. Sitter associated with 43 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 39 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Jonathan Spilsbury (baptised 1737-1812), Printmaker and portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 52 portraits.
Events of 1776back to top
Current affairs
Tahitian visitor to London Omai returns home with Captain James Cook on his third voyage. During his two-year stay he inspired a play and was painted by Joshua Reynolds.Member of Parliament David Hartley unsuccessfully introduces a motion to the House of Commons calling for the abolition of the slave trade.
Art and science
Edward Gibbon produces the first volume of his monumental The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.Artist John Constable is born.
Scottish economist Adam Smith analyses the nature and causes of prosperity in his magnum opus The Wealth of Nations.
International
American War of Independence: George Washington raises a new American flag on Prospect Hill, Boston. In an anonymous pamphlet entitled Common Sense, English immigrant Thomas Paine is the first to argue that the American colonies should be independent. Declaration of American Independence on 4 July.Comments back to top
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