Benjamin West

Washington Allston began this portrait of his teacher and mentor Benjamin West in England in 1814. He brought the unfinished painting with him when he returned to America, settling in Boston, in 1818. In 1837, a group of Bostonians asked Allston to finish the painting so that they could present it to the Boston Athenæum. Allston added the background, chair, and drapery. Finally completed, the painting made its debut at the Athenæum gallery that same year.