The Adoration of the Shepherds

1805

Benjamin West

Associated Names
Benjamin West

Artist, American, 1738 - 1820

This is a painting of a nativity scene. The artwork shows an indoor setting with a baby lying in a manger surrounded by figures. One woman is kneeling in front of the baby with her hands together. Other figures are standing and observing, some with their hands raised or clasped. Animals can be seen in the background. The color palette features shades of sepia and earth tones, with subtle blue accents in the sky visible through the rustic roof's opening. The style is reminiscent of Benjamin West.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown ink with brown wash and blue gouache heightened with white on wove paper mounted to board

  • Credit Line

    Julius S. Held Collection, Avalon Fund

  • Dimensions

    image: 22.9 × 32.9 cm (9 × 12 15/16 in.)
    sheet: 34.7 × 44.7 cm (13 11/16 × 17 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1984.3.72

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Central Picture Galleries, New York; Mrs. Jacob M. Kaplan, New York; Julius S. Held, Old Bennington, Vermont; purchased 1984 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1973

  • One Hundred Master Drawings from New England Private Collections, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford; Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College; Museum of Fine Art, Boston, 1973-1974, no. 42.

1986

  • Graphics Survey Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., April 1986.

Bibliography

1973

  • Robinson 1973, no. 42.

Inscriptions

lower left: B. West 1805; lower right mount in brown ink by unknown hand: No7; upper center verso in graphite by unknown hand: 1613 (not deciphered)

Markings

lower right verso stamped in black ink: JSH [Julius S. Held]

Watermarks

Fleur-de-lys in shield, with crown

Wikidata ID

Q64537241

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