| Portrait of Benjamin West | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Gilbert Stuart |
| Year | 1785 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Location | National Portrait Gallery, London |
Portrait of Benjamin West is a 1785 portrait painting by the American artist Gilbert Stuart of the noted Anglo-American painter Benjamin West. West, a future President of the Royal Academy settled in Britain during the 1760s. His epic 1770 battle painting The Death of General Wolfe established him as a leading artist. [1]
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West is shown seated in front of a dark green curtain. His hand rests on books including Tobias Smollett's book History of England. In the background is West's as yet unfished religious painting Moses Receiving the Law. [2] It was originally commissioned by John Boydell who ran the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery. It is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London having been acquired in 1872. [3]