Word over image: Benjamin West, John Singleton Copley, Washington Allston, and the (dis)illusion of Grand Manner history painting

Historians and biographers characterize Benjamin West, John Singleton Copley, and Washington Allston as being devoted to the tradition of Grand Manner history painting, which involved recreating scenes from classical and biblical texts in the manner of Renaissance and baroque Old Masters. This study reassesses this assumption, arguing that American artists' interest in European-styled history painting was fueled the historicism prevalent in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and amplified by the painters' provincial anxiety.;After relocating to England, Benjamin West became the best known and most prolific painter of historical subjects in the English-speaking world, but he fought persistent criticism of his labored painting technique and style. Unable to deflect this charge with consistently beautiful paintings, West ensured his connection to the Old Masters and proved his intrinsic value as a history painter with words: his semi-fictional biography, The Life, Studies, and Works of Benjamin West (1816--20), and the discourse on history painting that he cultivated among his contemporaries.;In contrast to West, John Singleton Copley lingered in the colonies and built a thriving business as a portraitist. When Copley did finally make his grand tour of Europe, the celebrated Old Master works he saw there failed to inspire him. Consequently, after settling in London, Copley boldly recast the art form of history painting and gained the attention he craved by drawing subjects from contemporary British history rather than ancient or biblical texts. Throughout his career, Copley fixated upon the aspect of history painting that he found most appealing: the esteem in which its practitioners were typically held.;Standing in the long shadow cast by his mentor Benjamin West, Washington Allston's will to practice grand-style history painting faded. After returning to America, Allston was tormented by his Belshazzar's Feast, the large biblical painting he brought back from England that he did not wish to finish. Unwilling to work at history painting, Allston instead wrote and spoke about it at length, knowing that such discourse would sustain his reputation as a well-studied, serious artist.;By carefully crafting their response to history painting in light of prevalent cultural beliefs, West, Copley, and Allston all earned respect for their connection to an art form that they alternately embraced, modified, and rejected.