The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-12-18
The Birthplace of Bonjnmin West.


The traveller on the Philadelphia s. West
Chester Railroad, as he approaches the West 4
dale station, has pointed out to him ON the
right of the road, two-story farmhouse as the
birthplace of Benjamin West, the famous
American painter. 1t is situated on the upper
edge of a wide meadow which slopes gently
towards the Delaware and commands an ex-
tenslVe view OF plain and valley, with now
and then bit of wood, the landscape termin-
atmg in the highlands in New Jersey across
the river. As we approach the premises, go
| ing out from Philadelphia, we see on the LETT of
| the house an ample stone barn, made still
| larger by the addition of wooden structure;
and near by, the spring house, so common on
i all the dairy farms in Pennsylvania.
Leaving the cars at the station, we pass up
| the old road ON which West took that famous
horseback ride when he declined to sit behind
| his schoolmate who invited him to the ex-
| cursion; ride that was suddenly terminated
| by the embryo painter when he found that his
mate had determined to become tailor A
| short walk up this road brings us to the front
| gate of the premises. A few yards down a
gentle slope we see, through the ample foliage
OF the trees which ornament the lawn, that the
house is square building of stone, and that it
shows signs of having been built many gene
rations ago. At the right hand corner stout
wcodbine has made its way up to the caves,
and there spreading throws out'an arm that
embraces the front, and another that stretches
across the end. The robin, who loves to find a
shelter among human habitations, has built
her nest in this vine.
/ i la t...
On entering the front door, we find a very
wide hall passes through the building and
opens out on broad piazza in the rear The
first door on ou- left opens into room where,
on the 10th of Oct, 1873, Benjamin, the tenth
son of John and Sarah West, was born. The
house is said to be more than two hundred
years old, and the room of to-day is the same
as it was in 1888. In one corner of this nurs cry
| we find that convenient three-cornered fixture
which is SO common in very old houses, a buff
fet, the upper half with glazed doors, wherein
the ambitious housekeeper was wont to display
her bright silver and her beautiful, painted
china; and the lower half close cupboard
Between the upper and lower half a leaf
draws out, on which we may presume young
West made some of his early efforts at paint
ing. Certain it is, that in that room, then used
as nursery, he, when left at the age of six
years, to take care of his infant sister, drew
her likeness with pen in red and black ink
And it is related that when his mother return
ed, he attempted to conceal his picture, but
she seized it and exclaimed to her daughter
she has made likeness of little Sally" She
was SO much pleased that she gave her son
T16nd kiss, of which in after life he said, ''My
mothers kiss made me a painter" Determ-
ined to be a painter, he continued his efforts,
painting birds, fruit and flowers Some In
dams were SO much pleased with these little
pictures, that they taught West how to make
red and yellow colors, and his mother added
indigo. But he could not put the colors on
with pen, and being told that it was done
with a camefs hair brush, and having no means
of procuring one, he used as substitute the
fur on the cats back and tail ,.sl l..-
Not long after this gentleman in Phila-
delphia sent him box of paints and
pencils and some prepared canvas, and now
| young West entered on his work with such en-
thusiasm that he forgot his school OF course
the nursery, where we have thus far stood
while telling our story, was no longer a fit
place to work in. If we step out of doors and
take look at the end of the house, we notice
that the roof is what is called "gambrel," a
style of building that gives ample garrett room
Up there, where he had stits' light of two win
dows in the end of his studio, West carried his
paints, brushes and canvas; and there from
two engravings which his friend had sent him.
he composed picture of which he said sixty
seven years afterwards that there were in it
touches of art which, with all his subsequent
knowledge and experience he had not been able
to surpass. ~ +. -. 3.H nd .,rt.
Before leaving the building made famous as
the birthplace and the scene of the early eff
forts of the first American painter. of his time,
we will look into the ample kitchen which con-
meets with the nursery. The remarkable fea-
ture of the room is the huge chimney which
occupies nearly the entire side of the apart
ment. The large fireplace is flanked on each
side with a capacious closet, which for conven-
/ fence of keeping things is not surpassed by
what are called modern improvements. The
two rooms on the other side of the hall are re-
| markable only in one particular. A single
chimney at the end of the house supplies the
rooms with fireplace which is a triangular
| affair in the corner of each room
| Westdale, as well all the; region round
about Philadelphia, was settled by the follow
ers of William Penn, and many of them con-
dnue to this day in the rural districts Here,
ON an eminence overlooking the farm on which
West was born, the Orthodox Friends are
erecting college, for the foundation of which
they have subscribed 100000. 1t is very Sc
cluded spot, with nothing to break the silence
saveathe infrequent signal fof the locomotive
.if...a.f. e..e.i,i j. S. of Maine
PhiLQdelDltia Dec ID 1866 ----- ~