Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00000245Elizabeth Shewell West and Her Son, Raphael
Also known as: Mrs. West with Raphael West; Mrs. West and Her Son Raphael
About the Artwork
West was the first American artist to study in Italy, where he spent three years before permanently settling in London. He so admired the artistic ideals of the Italian Renaissance master Raphael that he named his eldest son after him, and he imitated Raphael’s celebrated Madonna of the Chair when composing this tender double portrait of his wife and child.
Provenance
1927-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio 1916-1927: Edward S. Harkness [1874-1940], New York, NY, to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1916: Mary Warden Harkness [1864-1916], New York, NY, by bequest to her brother-in-law Edward S. Harkness 1911-1916: Charles W. Harkness [1860-1916], New York, NY, by bequest to his wife Mary Warden Harkness1 Until 1911: (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, sold to Charles W. Harkness) ?: Henry J. Pfungst [1844-1917], Cleveland Square, London By 1909: Castle Smith, London Probably 1848-: Grandson of Benjamin West, Jr., to his widow 1820-by 1848: Benjamin West, Jr. [1772-1848], to his grandson c. 1770-1820: Benjamin West [1738-1820], London, to his son, Benjamin West, Jr.
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). Style, Truth and the Portrait. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 19, 1963). The American Portrait. Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA (organizer) (September 14-October 31, 1965). American Masters. Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, MI (organizer) (September 14-October 19, 1966). CMA @ Oberlin - American Portraits. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 29-December 17, 2006).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 7, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Benjamin West (American, born The Thirteen Colonies, 1738–1820)
- Date
- c. 1770
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 88 x 87.5 x 9 cm (34 5/8 x 34 7/16 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 66.5 x 66.3 cm (26 3/16 x 26 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- The Charles W. Harkness Gift
- Accession no.
- 1927.393
More by Benjamin West in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00000245
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