The Skater is a 1782 oil on canvas portrait of Sir William Grant by the American artist Gilbert Stuart . Painted while Stuart was living in London, it was the work that first brought the artist broad recognition.
35-660: In 1775 Stuart left his home in the United States for London, and by 1777 he was apprenticed there to Benjamin West . By 1781 Stuart's progress was such that West desired to sit for a portrait by the younger painter, and the resulting painting was favorably received at that year's Royal Academy exhibition. Later in 1781 Stuart was approached by Sir William Grant , a well-placed young Scotsman from Congalton in East Lothian, not far from Edinburgh , who wished to commission
70-541: A famous painter who had immigrated from London. West learned Wollaston's techniques for painting the shimmer of silk and satin, and also adopted some of "his mannerisms, the most prominent of which was to give all his subjects large almond-shaped eyes, which clients thought very chic". West was a close friend of Benjamin Franklin , whose portrait he painted. Franklin was the godfather of West's second son, Benjamin. Sponsored by Smith and William Allen , then reputed to be
105-477: A full-length portrait. Stuart had not yet successfully completed a figure in full-length format—he had, in fact, been loath to accept at least two such previous commissions, and was said to have been incapable of painting a figure "beneath the fifth button". Encouraged by the recent reception of his work at the Royal Academy, he agreed to accept the commission from Grant. When he arrived to begin sitting for
140-558: A number of international neo-classical artists including German-born Anton Rafael Mengs , Scottish Gavin Hamilton , and Austrian Angelica Kauffman . In August 1763, West arrived in England, on what he initially intended as a visit on his way back to America. In fact, he never returned to America. He stayed for a month at Bath with William Allen, who was also in the country, and visited his half-brother Thomas West at Reading at
175-483: A scheme to decorate St Paul's Cathedral with paintings. It was rejected by the Bishop of London , but his idea of painting an altarpiece for St Stephen Walbrook was accepted. At around this time he also received acclaim for his classical subjects, such as Orestes and Pylades and The Continence of Scipio . West was known in England as the "American Raphael". His Raphaelesque painting of Archangel Michael Binding
210-701: The Treaty of Paris , and Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky . Entirely self-taught, West soon gained valuable patronage and toured Europe, eventually settling in London . He impressed King George III and was largely responsible for the launch of the Royal Academy , of which he became the second president (after Sir Joshua Reynolds ). He was appointed historical painter to
245-585: The American Philosophical Society . In a story related by Henry Angelo I (1756–1835) in his book of reminiscences, the actor David Garrick , who was a friend of Angelo's father, the Italian sword master Domenico Angelo , memorably sketched for the teenaged Henry the following exchange: one day the painter Francesco Zuccarelli , on one of his visits to Domenico, got into a dispute with his fellow royal academician Johan Zoffany about
280-822: The Dallas Museum of Art . It shows the Conversion of Paul . He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1791. West is also well known for his huge work in the Chapel of St Peter and St Paul which now forms part of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. His work, The Preservation of St Paul after a Shipwreck at Malta , measures 25 by 14 ft (7.6 by 4.3 m) and illustrates
315-623: The Acts of the Apostles: 27 & 28. West also provided the designs for the other paintings executed by Biagio Rebecca in the chapel. Following a loss of royal patronage at the beginning of the 19th century, West began a series of large-scale religious works. The first, Christ Healing the Sick was originally intended as a gift to Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia; instead he sold it to
350-652: The Boyne portrayed William of Orange 's victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and strongly influenced subsequent images of William. In 1806 he produced The Death of Nelson , to commemorate Horatio Nelson 's death at the Battle of Trafalgar . St Paul's Church , in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, has an important enamelled stained glass east window made in 1791 by Francis Eginton , modelled on an altarpiece painted c. 1786 by West, now in
385-606: The British Institution for £3,000, which in turn presented it to the National Gallery. West then made a copy to send to Philadelphia. The success of the picture led him to paint a series of even larger works, including his Death on the Pale Horse , exhibited in 1817. Though initially snubbed by Sir Joshua Reynolds, founding President of the Royal Academy, and by some other Academicians who felt he
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#1732802466118420-508: The Devil is in the collection of Trinity College, Cambridge . He said that "Art is the representation of human beauty, ideally perfect in design, graceful and noble in attitude." Drummond tried to raise subscriptions to fund an annuity for West, so that he could give up portraiture and devote himself entirely to more ambitious compositions. Having failed in this, he tried—with greater success—to convince King George III to patronise West. West
455-658: The Royal Academy in 1878. The painting passed by descent in the sitter's family until 1950, when it was sold to the National Gallery of Art, Washington . The Skater may have influenced Henry Raeburn 's later painting, The Skating Minister , considered a masterpiece of Scottish art. Benjamin West Benjamin West PRA (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as The Death of Nelson , The Death of General Wolfe ,
490-657: The Tomahawk of a North American Indian of 1768. When the American Revolution broke out in 1775 he remained ambivalent, and neither spoke out for or against the Revolutionary War in his land of birth. West became known for his large scale history paintings , which use expressive figures, colours and compositional schemes to help the spectator to identify with the scene represented. West called this " epic representation". His 1778 work The Battle of
525-410: The artist. Behind Grant is a winter landscape of restrained tones composed of distant skaters, trees, and a far-off London skyline that includes Westminster Abbey . Grant's figure divides the canvas into contrasting halves: to the right the coat's silhouette undulates gently, and a large bare tree anchors the composition, while the left side, opening onto the gestures of skaters in motion, is activated by
560-514: The campus of Swarthmore College . He was the tenth child of an innkeeper, John West (1690–1776), and his wife, Sarah Pearson (1697–1756). The family later moved to Newtown Square, Pennsylvania , where his father was the proprietor of the Square Tavern , still standing in that town. West told the novelist John Galt , with whom, late in his life, he collaborated on a memoir, The Life and Studies of Benjamin West (1816, 1820), that, when he
595-536: The court and Surveyor of the King's Pictures . West also painted religious subjects, as in his huge work The Preservation of St Paul after a Shipwreck at Malta , at the Chapel of St Peter and St Paul at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, and Christ Healing the Sick , presented to the National Gallery . West was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania , in a house that is now in the borough of Swarthmore on
630-550: The fashion of Baroque portraiture in the Grand Manner . But for his folded arms, Grant's pose derives from the Apollo Belvedere , a cast of which was present in West's studio. The black tones of a full-skirted coat, elegant smallclothes and shoes are relieved by a white cravat and cuff, a gray fur lapel, a glimpse of tan glove, and silver buckles on the hat, breeches, and shoes; the stylishly tilted hat belonged to
665-839: The following year, and served until his death. In 1810 West was painted by his future successor Thomas Lawrence as President of the Royal Academy and the Portrait of Benjamin West was exhibited at the 1811 Summer Exhibition . Many American artists studied under him in London, including Ralph Earl and later his son, Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl , Samuel Morse , Robert Fulton , Charles Willson Peale , Rembrandt Peale , Matthew Pratt , Gilbert Stuart , John Trumbull , Samuel Lovett Waldo , Washington Allston , Thomas Sully , John Green , and Abraham Delanoy . West died at his house in Newman Street in London , on March 11, 1820, and
700-469: The life of Edward III for St George's Hall at Windsor Castle , and proposed a cycle of 36 works on the theme of "the progress of revealed religion" for a chapel at the castle, of which 28 were eventually executed. The largest group of paintings (seven) from the series is currently in Greenville, SC. He also painted nine portraits of members of the royal family, including two of the king himself. He
735-451: The merit of West's 1769 painting The Departure of Regulus , his first commission for the king. Zuccarelli exclaimed, "Here is a painter who promises to rival Nicolas Poussin ", while Zoffany tauntingly replied, "A figo for Poussin, West has already beaten him out of the field." In 1772, King George appointed him historical painter to the court at an annual fee of £1,000. He painted a series of eight large canvases showing episodes from
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#1732802466118770-418: The painting was immediately recognized for its originality. Connoisseur John Collum wrote "One would have thought that almost every attitude of a single figure had long been exhausted in this land of portrait painting, but one is now exhibited which I recollect not before—it is that of skating". The Duke of Rutland supposedly went directly from the exhibition to meet with Joshua Reynolds , beseeching him to see
805-716: The painting, picked it up and said, "Why, it's Sally!", and kissed him. Later, he noted, "My mother's kiss made me a painter". He received further art training by the artisan painter William Williams . From 1746 to 1759, West worked in Pennsylvania, mostly painting portraits. While West was in Lancaster in 1756, his patron, a gunsmith named William Henry , encouraged him to paint a Death of Socrates based on an engraving in Charles Rollin 's Ancient History. His resulting composition, which significantly differs from
840-433: The painting. On the strength of The Skater Stuart's reputation gained parity with those of Gainsborough and Reynolds, and prominent commissions followed. Stuart's apprenticeship with West ended, and he moved his studio from a room in the senior artist's house to an independent space on Newman Street. Stuart later said that he had been "suddenly lifted into fame by a single picture." It had appeared again in an exhibition at
875-620: The portrait, Grant remarked that "on account of the excessive coldness of the weather ... the day was better suited for skating than sitting for one's portrait". Presently artist and patron left for the Serpentine in Hyde Park , where the two men took to the ice, and Grant engaged in a series of skating maneuvers that attracted an admiring crowd. When the ice beneath them began to crack, Stuart instructed Grant to take hold of his coattails, and led him safely to shore. Upon their return to
910-431: The shape of his protruding elbow and the jagged contour of coat. Beyond the large tree the recession of the distant treeline creates a movement from right to left which is echoed by the disposition of the secondary figures. The overall handling evidences a lightness of touch and a success in integrating figure and landscape that suggests the open-air portraits of Thomas Gainsborough . At the Royal Academy exhibition of 1782
945-512: The source, has been called "the most ambitious and interesting painting produced in colonial America". Dr William Smith , then the provost of the College of Philadelphia , saw the painting in Henry's house and decided to become West's patron, offering him education and, more importantly, connections with wealthy and politically connected Pennsylvanians. During this time West met John Wollaston ,
980-420: The studio Stuart started to paint Grant's head directly—he never drew with a pencil—then stopped and suggested a composition inspired by their venture on the ice. Grant consented, and Stuart subsequently rendered the figure from memory. With his arms crossed and his head slightly lowered as he skates from right to left, Grant dominates the canvas. The dramatic impression is enhanced by a low point of view, much in
1015-1063: The urging of his father. In London he was introduced to Richard Wilson and his student Joshua Reynolds . He moved into a house in Bedford Street, Covent Garden . The first picture he painted in England, Angelica and Medora , along with the Portrait of Robert Monckton , and his Cymon and Iphigenia , painted in Rome, were shown at the exhibition Society of Artists in Spring Gardens in 1764. In 1765, he married Elizabeth Shewell, an American he engaged in Philadelphia , at St Martin-in-the-Fields . Dr Markham , then Headmaster of Westminster School , introduced West to Samuel Johnson , Edmund Burke , Thomas Newton, Bishop of Bristol , James Johnson, Bishop of Worcester , and Robert Hay Drummond , Archbishop of York. All three prelates commissioned work from him. In 1766 West proposed
1050-479: The wealthiest man in Philadelphia , West traveled to Italy in 1760 in the company of the Scot William Patoun, a painter who later became an art collector. In common with many artists, architects, and lovers of the fine arts at that time he conducted a Grand Tour . West expanded his repertoire by copying works of Italian painters such as Titian and Raphael direct from the originals. In Rome he met
1085-470: Was Surveyor of the King's Pictures from 1791 until his death. West painted his most famous, and possibly most influential painting, The Death of General Wolfe , in 1770 and it exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1771. The painting became one of the most frequently reproduced images of the period. It returned to the French and Indian War setting of his General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from
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1120-468: Was a child, Native Americans showed him how to make paint by mixing some clay from the river bank with bear grease in a pot. West was an autodidact ; while excelling at the arts, "he had little [formal] education and, even when president of the Royal Academy, could scarcely spell". One day, his mother left him alone with his little sister Sally. Benjamin discovered some bottles of ink and began to paint Sally's portrait. When his mother came home, she noticed
1155-606: Was buried in St Paul's Cathedral . He had been offered a knighthood by the British Crown, but declined it, believing that he should instead be made a peer . . President of the Royal Academy This is a list of the officers of the Royal Academy of Arts . An incomplete list of the ex officio members , by virtue of their holding of another office. The post was created in 2000, supported by
1190-514: Was over-ambitious, West was elected President of the Royal Academy on the death of Reynolds in 1792. During his time as President, he fell victim to the Venetian secret , a scandal involving a supposedly secret set of materials and techniques used by Renaissance painters in Venice. He resigned in 1805, to be replaced by a fierce rival, architect James Wyatt . However West was again elected president
1225-427: Was soon on good terms with the king, and the two men conducted long discussions on the state of art in England, including the idea of the establishment of a Royal Academy. The academy came into being in 1768, with West one of the primary leaders of an opposition group formed out of the existing Society of Artists of Great Britain ; Joshua Reynolds was its first president. In the same year, he was elected to membership in
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