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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MASTERS THESIS M-4821 OEDEL, William Townsend THE AMERICAN SKETCHBOOK OF BENJAMIN WEST. University of Delaware (Winterthur Program), M.A., 1973 History, general University Microfilms, A XEROX Company , Ann Arbor, Michigan © 1973 WILLIAM TOWNSEND OEDEL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE AMERICAN SKETCHBOOK OF BENJAMIN WEST by William Townsend Oedel A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Early American Culture. May 1973 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE AMERICAN SKETCHBOOK OF BENJAMIN WEST by William Tovrnsend Oodel Approved Professor m Charge of T]- is Jipproved Coordinateof the Wintertnur Program .Approved: of. Dean of the College of//Graduate Studies ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. FOR JETHRO iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE The American Sketchbook (1756-1758) of Benjamin West is a significant document. It sheds light on the character of its eminent author, filling many gaps that an imperfect written record has left art historians. It con­ stitutes a vivid statement of the nature of the craft of the American artist; it illuminates the way in which a young Colonist who aspired to pursue the painter's profes­ sion mastered the "mysteries" of the craft; it suggests the various sources that might have aided him in his self­ training; and it reflects the tastes of the artist, his mentors, and his patrons. It relates West's early lan­ guage of vision: that is, what he saw and how he recorded what he saw. The Sketchbook is also important to the student of American art in another, equally intrinsic, respect. It is the largest series of drawings executed by a native- born American artist before the Revolution. In 1756, just before West began to fill the pages of his sketchbook, John Singleton Copley composed a small book of anatomical drav/ings, now lodged at the British Museum; and in 1760 John Greenwood finished two drawings--a self-portrait and a marine scene— now in the collection of the New York Pub­ lic Library. This handful of drav/ings, however, are the few examples of American colonial draughtsmanship (whose authenticity is unquestionable) known to me. In the light of this fact, West's book of over sixty sketches assumes a unique position in the history of American art. One won­ ders if colonial painters never made preliminary drav/ings, iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V or if their drav/ings simply have not survived. One also might wonder why some enterprising art historian has not given the Sketchbook full treatment. In 1938 William Sawitzky devoted a full page (in a thirty-page article) and twenty-eight illustrations to the subject; his brief mention has since gained acceptance as the authoritative statement concerning West's American drawings. I have found the Sketchbook deserving of broader discussion. I have encountered a great problem— perhaps the great problem which all students of Benjamin West face at some point--in the course of my courtship of West. Of all the major American painters, West is virtually the only one who has yet to find at least a competent biographer. John Galt, West's contemporary, defied fact so often in his biography that his reader must have handy a marvellous quantity of salt. Unfortunately, Galt's account has served as the basis for every subsequent discussion of West's life. Some writers have accepted his word; others have disbelieved or refuted it; others still have borrowed heavily from Galt and simultaneously discredited him. William Dunlap, who compiled his three-volume history of the arts in America in 1834, was so intent on discrediting Galt that even his account invites incredulity. To date the most believable if not the most accurate record of West's life is James Flexner's article of 1952; but Flex- ner never carries West beyond Philadelphia. So widespread and confusing are the myths which surround the artist's life, and particularly his early years in Pennsylvania, that I feel a responsibility to offer a cursory, revised edition in my in.itial chapter. I have presented a certain amount of speculation, but I have afforded a full explana­ tion of the sources of my reasoning. I invite the indus­ trious reader to reach his own conclusions. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vi In the preparation of the second chapter I found that the greatest difficulty lay in the assimilation of widely known material. E. P. Richardson has dealt exten­ sively with the subject of the artistic community of Philadelphia before the Revolution, but I have taken issue with a number of his conclusions. Carl Bridenbaugh, in his pleasant style but without notes of his sources, has treated the matter clearly, incisively, and perforce in­ completely. I have cited a good deal of the primary ma­ terial which he unearthed and which I have not been able to peruse personally. I refer the reader to his discus­ sion. I am happy to say, however, that my own researches have produced some new material which has led me to view Philadelphia painting from a different slant. If, in the first two chapters, I have indulged in "contentious historiography" or the fine art of destroying myths, in my concluding chapter I offer observations con­ cerning the Sketchbook itself that are considerably more original. I have avoided candid subjectivity as much as possible; for I have employed certain of the methods and criteria which art historians have patented in order to render personal expression and taste adaptable to princi­ ples of objectivity. In my effort to reconstruct West's early language of vision from an examination of his draw­ ings, I have also disclosed much of my own. This cannot be helped: it is the lot of the art historian. One must bear in mind finally, that the focus of the following discussion falls on the city of Philadel­ phia. I firmly believe that a man’s character is more than roughly formed within the first two decades of his life. His situation may change continually until his death, to be sure, but in his youth he acquires the gen­ eral tools and moral equipment which he employs habitually Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. vii throughout life to cope with the immediate situation. Benjamin West carried with him to Italy and England the same basic character that he had developed in Philadelphia during the 1750's. I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to my father, Professor Howard T. Oedel, who offered many valuable suggestions concerning the cogency of my writing; to my friend, roommate, and proofreader, Gilbert T. Vin­ cent, whose ideas lent objective direction to the final chapter; to Stephanie Munsing, Curator of Prints at the Library Company of Philadelphia, friend and cordial host­ ess, who assisted my researches; and to my special friend, Laura Penney Smith, who read and typed the manuscript. Above all, I am indebted to Dr. R. Peter Mooz, my advisor, who first brought the topic to my attention, and whose in­ cisive advice and animated encouragement have been my mainstays of inspiration, not only in the preparation of this paper, but throughout the two years I have studied at Winterthur. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.