As you remember, The Declaration of Independence took place in 1776. The
U.S. began creating their own history and national identity, a part of
which, of course, expressed through art. So today we will be looking at
some history paintings which means a lot of portaits.
I will focus on only two artists as all the charateristics can be seen in the work
of these two major ones of the period Both born in 1738, John Singleton
Copley and Benjamin West. They extended the range
of subject matter in American painting to include historical, mythological
and landscape subjects as well as the traditional portrait. Copley's aspirations
and attitude to the role of the painter in the colonies and 'young' America can be seen in
his own remark:
"was it not for preserving the resemblance of particular
persons, painting would not be known in the place. The people regard it
as no more than any other useful trade ... like that of a carpenter, tailor,
or shoemaker, not as one of the most noble arts in the world".
Take a look at some work from the two gentlemen
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| B. West Charles Wilson Peale (1769) |
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| B. West Harvesting at Windsor (1795) |
What else can you say about the style after seeing the pictures?
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