John Hall
William Penn's Treaty with the Indians

William Penn's Treaty with the Indians

Public Domain

William Penn's Treaty with the Indians
ArtistEnglish, 1739–1797
ArtistAmerican, active England, 1738–1820
PublisherEnglish, 1719–1804
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • William Penn's Treaty with the Indians
Date1775
Printed inLondon, England
MediumEngraving and etching with watercolor on laid paper
DimensionsImage: 16 3/4 × 23 1/8 in. (42.5 × 58.7 cm)
 Plate or block: 19 × 24 1/4 in. (48.3 × 61.6 cm)
 Sheet: 19 1/4 × 24 1/4 in. (48.9 × 61.6 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Roy and Meredith Cullen in honor of Harry H. Cullen at "One Great Night in November, 1995"
Object numberB.95.12
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Folk Art Room
On view

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionThomas Penn, son of Pennsylvania founder William Penn, commissioned Benjamin West to create the painting on which this print is based. The image depicts a legendary meeting in 1682 between Penn’s delegation, colonial merchants, and Native American people as Penn worked to create a peaceful arrangement for European colonizers to settle in Pennsylvania. Most historians now agree that the meeting portrayed by West never took place. As Thomas Penn’s own reputation for fair dealings with Native Americans and others dimmed, West’s painting and this popular print helped to strengthen the belief that Pennsylvania’s origins, at least, were built on fair and ethical foundations.
Provenance[Mongerson Wunderlich Galleries, Chicago]; purchased by MFAH, 1995.
Exhibition History“American Adversaries: West and Copley in a Transatlantic World,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 6, 2013–January 20, 2014.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Printed a lower right below image in script: John Hall Sculpsit.
Printed at lower left below image in script: Benj.: West Pinxit.
Printed center below image: John Boydell excudit 1775.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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