Portrait of a Man
Benjamin West
1790–99
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
127 × 102 cm (50 × 40 1/8 in.); Framed: 152.4 × 128.3 × 11.5 cm (60 × 50 1/2 × 4 1/2 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
95420
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...