Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009153George III
About the Artwork
King George III commissioned more than 80 paintings from West, including this portrait that celebrates his military leadership by presenting him in a suit of armor. Such an image likely was intended to bolster George III's reputation, which had been tarnished the previous year when he was forced to formally recognize American independence.
Inscriptions
Signed lower right: "B. West. 17[?]3"
Provenance
1910: Dr. T. Fisher, Sidcup, Kent, England (S.T. Smith & Son, London, England) 1914: (Vose Gallery, Boston, MA) 1919: Otto Miller, Cleveland, OH Elsa Woolworth Miller, Cleveland, OH October 14, 1944: (Sale: Kende Galleries at Gimbel Brothers, New York, October 14, 1944) -1952: Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence S. Robbins, Shaker Heights, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1952-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Heritage Kingston. Agnes Etherington Art Center/ Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (organizer) (June 3-October 27, 1973). The Dye is Now Cast, 1774 - 1776. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, Washington, DC (organizer) (April 19-November 16, 1975). Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Benjamin West (American, born The Thirteen Colonies, 1738–1820)
- Date
- 1783
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 152 x 127 x 9.5 cm (59 13/16 x 50 x 3 3/4 in.); Unframed: 126.5 x 101 cm (49 13/16 x 39 3/4 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence S. Robbins
- Accession no.
- 1952.17
More by Benjamin West in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009153
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