The Life, Studies, and Works of Benjamin West, Esq.: Composed from Materials Furnished by HimselfGalt, John
General
The Life, Studies, and Works of Benjamin West, Esq.: Composed from Materials Furnished by Himself
Galt, John
West, Benjamin, 1738-1820
When Lord Grosvenor bought the picture of the death of Wolfe, Mr. West
mentioned to him the finding of the bones of Bradock's army as a pictorial
subject capable of being managed with great effect. The gloom of the vast
forest, the naked and simple Indians supporting the skeletons, the grief
of the son on recognizing the relics of his father, the subdued melancholy
of the spectators, and the picturesque garb of the Pennsylvanian
sharpshooters, undoubtedly furnished topics capable of every effect which
the pencil could bestow, or the imagination require in the treatment of so
sublime a scene. His Lordship admitted, that in possessing so affecting an
incident as the discovery of the bones of the Halkets, it was superior
even to that of the search for the remains of the army of Varus; the
transaction, however, being little known, and not recorded by any
historian, he thought it would not be interesting to the public. Other
engagements have since prevented Mr. West from attempting it on his own
account. But it is necessary that the regular narrative should be resumed;
for the military history of the Artist terminated when he was recalled
home by the last illness of his mother, although the excitement which the
events that led to it occasioned never lost its influence on his mind,
especially that of the incident which has been described, and which has
ever been present to his imagination as one of the most affecting
occurrences, whether considered with respect to the feelings of the
gentlemen most immediately interested in it, or with respect to the wild
and solemn circumstances under which the service was performed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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