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Benjamin West
1738-1820
Naval Battle
Black chalk on paper; border in gray wash on old mat; laid down.
3 1/16 x 5 13/16 inches (77 x 147 mm)
Purchased as a gift of Mrs. Robert H. Charles.
1970.11:64
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Notes:
This drawing may have been a preliminary drawing for West's historical painting, "The Great Battle of La Hogue," 1778, now at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Inscription:
Signed by the artist in black chalk on mat at lower right, "B. West". Inscribed on verso in pen and brown ink, "Alfred Russel Margary from his affecte Grandmother Mrs. West 1848".
Provenance:
Estate of the artist; by descent; Harry Margary, the great-grandson of Maria West (daughter of Raphael Lamar West, and granddaughter of Benjamin West); Thos. Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London; from whom purchased 60 drawings, 17 June 1964, and 197 drawings, 15 February 1965, by M. Knoedler and Co., Inc.; from whom purchased 257 drawings by the Morgan Library in 1970.
Associated names:
Margary, Harry, former owner.
Charles, Robert H., Mrs., donor.
Bibliography:
Kraemer, Ruth S. Drawings by Benjamin West and his son Raphael Lamar West. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1975, no. 17.
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