Fan
Benjamin West
1775/1800
Medium
Ivory guards and sticks, carved; paper mount, painted; gold leaf; metal pin with mother-of-pearl
Dimensions
28.8 × 50.4 cm (11 1/4 × 19 11/16 in.)
Classification
costume accessory - folding fan
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
581
About the Artist
Benjamin West · 1738–1820
Benjamin West, born on October 10, 1738, in Springfield, Pennsylvania, emerged as one of the most influential painters of his era despite being entirely self-taught. Growing up in a Quaker family in colonial America, West displayed prodigious talent from childhood, creating portraits and religious scenes with materials gifted by local patrons. By his late teens, he had garnered enough support to t...