Benjamin West (American, born The Thirteen Colonies, 1738–1820)

Benjamin West

King George III commissioned more than 80 paintings from West, including this portrait that celebrates his military leadership by presenting him in a suit of armor. Such an image likely was intended to bolster George III's reputation, which had been tarnished the previous year when he was forced to formally recognize American independence.

Heritage Kingston. Agnes Etherington Art Center/ Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (organizer) (June 3-October 27, 1973).

Heritage Kingston

The Dye is Now Cast, 1774 - 1776. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, Washington, DC (organizer) (April 19-November 16, 1975).

The Dye is Now Cast, 1774 - 1776

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum

London, The Royal Academy of Arts, (1783 (73?)). see Algernon Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from its Foundation in 1769 to 1904; see von Erffa and Staley's entry on painting for citation; if 1783, no. 73, p. 214.

The Inaugural Exhibition, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (6 June - 20 September 1916). listed p. 44, cat. no. 163, mistitled Portrait of the Duke of York.

Heritage Kingston, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario (3 June - 28 October 1973). cat. no. 26, pp. 34-35, illus. p. 34.

"The Dye is Now Cast" The Road to American Independence, 1774-1776, The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. (19 April - 16 November 1975). cat. no. 92, illus. p. 146.

The World Turned Upside Down, Yorktown Victory Center, Yorktown, VA (9 May - 31 December 1981).

British New York 1664-1783, Museum of the City of New York, New York (15 April - 27 November 1983). illus. inside pamphlet in color.

A vertically oriented oil painting depicts George III, a man with a light skin tone, in profile. He wears dark armor with a bright blue sash and a star-shaped badge. A red robe lined with white ermine fur drapes over his right shoulder. His left hand holds a baton. Dark green curtains hang behind him, while a ship sails on a sea under a warm, orange sky in the lower right.

(Sale: Kende Galleries at Gimbel Brothers, New York, October 14, 1944)

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence S. Robbins, Shaker Heights, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

George III's armor represents his role as a powerful military leader, despite England's loss of the American colonies prior to this portrait's creation.

Armor

George III's cape lined with white ermine fur is a symbol of his royal status.

Cape

The ships in the background reference the British navy, which was one of the best in the world under George III.

Ships

George III

Landscape, No. 1

Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page

The Appian Way

The Wheat Field

General Admission Is Always Free

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This book presents an overview of American painting of the 19th century, from the Hudson River School to Realism, Impressionism, and the Ashcan School. 480 pages

George III

Benjamin West

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George III

Benjamin West

Did You Know?

Description

George III

Benjamin West

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Shop the CMA Store

American Painting

CMA Die-Cut Acrylic Magnet

Water Lilies Oval Sticker

Stag at Sharkey's Oval Sticker

Contact Us