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Benjamin West

King Lear

Maker

Benjamin West (American, 1738-1820)

Title

King Lear

Year

ca. 1789

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

oil paint

Supports

Dimensions

46.4 x 66.7 cm (18 1/4 x 26 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: Unsigned

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum purchase: gift of the Honorable Theodore Francis Green

Object Number

56.084

Type

Exhibition History

Making It In America
Oct 11, 2013 – Feb 09, 2014

Label copy

Benjamin West rose from a modest Pennsylvania upbringing to become the president of Britain’s Royal Academy. His early skill as a draftsman attracted support of Philadelphia patrons who oversaw his education and sponsored his travel to Italy. In 1768 he settled in England, eventually winning an appointment as history painter to King George III. A highly influential teacher, West advised many American artists who traveled abroad to study under him.

This scene from King Lear served as a prototype for an engraving published by Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery in London. As Lear rages over his treatment by his two eldest daughters, his madness is mirrored in the surging storm and by Edgar (right) and the Fool (left). A monumental version of this painting is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

From the Reserve IV
Nineteenth-Century American Painting
Jul 22, 1994 – Oct 02, 1994
The Age of Canova
Nov 06, 1957 – Dec 15, 1957

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Benjamin West (American, 1738-1820)
King Lear, ca. 1789
Oil on panel
46.4 x 66.7 cm (18 1/4 x 26 1/4 inches)
Museum purchase: gift of the Honorable Theodore Francis Green 56.084

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