The Benjamin West Birthplace, also known as Benjamin West House,[3] is a historic home located on the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It was the birthplace of artist Benjamin West (1738–1820), who was an influential mentor to a generation of American painters, including Gilbert Stuart and Charles Willson Peale.[4] His birthplace was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.[2][1] It presently houses the dispatch and offices for the college's campus police, along with a visitor information center.[3]
Benjamin West Birthplace | |
 Benjamin West Birthplace, 2015 | |
   | |
| Location | Swarthmore College campus, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°54′18″N 75°21′5″W / 39.90500°N 75.35139°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | c. 1724 |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000662 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL | December 21, 1965[2] |
Description and history
editThe Benjamin West Birthplace stands on the east side of the Swarthmore campus, just west of North Chester Road off Visitor Center Road. It is a 2+1⁄2-story stone structure, with a gabled roof pierced by two gabled dormers on each side. The main facade is five bays wide, with a centered entrance sheltered by a gabled portico. The interior does not have any original 18th-century features, the building having been gutted by fire in 1874. At that time its interior was rebuilt, and an ell added to the rear.[4]
The house was reportedly built about 1724, when the area was still part of Springfield Township. Benjamin West was born in this house in 1738 into a Quaker family, but was himself an Anglican for most of his life. He was one of the first American-born artists to be trained in Italy, and settled in England in 1763, where he embarked on a successful career as a painter, working primarily on commission to King George III. He is important in the history of American art for his role in supporting the early careers of a number of Americans who achieved great success, including Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Rembrandt Peale, and Charles Willson Peale, all of whom he supported both financially and logistically in their development.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Benjamin West Birthplace". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
- ^ a b "About Public Safety". Swarthmore College. July 8, 2014. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021.
- ^ a b c Richard Greenwood (September 25, 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Benjamin West Birthplace" (pdf). National Park Service.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) and Accompanying photos, exterior and interior, from 1974. (875 KB)
External links
edit
Media related to Benjamin West birthplace at Wikimedia Commons
- "Birthplace of Benjamin West, Artist, 1845" at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania