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

Explore Further

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.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

The Death of General Montgomery, In the Attack of Quebec, December 1775
Johan Frederik Clemens
The Death of General Montgomery, In the Attack of Quebec, December 1775
1798
Engraving and etching on laid paper, proof before title
B.2007.7
Serving Dish
Thomas Green Minerva China Works
Serving Dish
c. 1847–1859
Lead-glazed earthenware with transfer print
B.72.108.41
Sketchbook
George Romney
Sketchbook
September 1783
Book with pen and sepia ink, brush and sepia wash, black chalk and graphite on laid paper
78.187
Untitled (German, Italian and Japanese Boy Scouts gathered at the Hachiman Shrine near the Tama River in order to celebrate the first anniversary of Italy's entry into the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany and Japan)
Untitled (German, Italian and Japanese Boy Scouts gathered at the Hachiman Shrine near the Tama River in order to celebrate the first anniversary of Italy's entry into the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany and Japan)
1938
Gelatin silver print
2007.1732
A View of Bethlem, the Great Moravian Settlement in the Province of Pennsylvania
Paul Sandby
A View of Bethlem, the Great Moravian Settlement in the Province of Pennsylvania
1768
Engraving and etching with watercolor hand coloring on laid paper
B.2017.10
Portrait of Hamlet; Portrait of Miss Curwen (reverse)
George Romney
Portrait of Hamlet; Portrait of Miss Curwen (reverse)
no date
Sepia ink, brown wash and black lead on handmade laid paper
94.1079.A,.B
Bowl
Bowl
900–200 BC
Stone
2004.2532
The Vanishing Race — Navaho
Edward Sheriff Curtis
The Vanishing Race — Navaho
c. 1904
Orotone
99.485
The Interior of the Hut of a Mandan Chief
Narcisse E. J. Desmadryl
The Interior of the Hut of a Mandan Chief
c. 1835
Engraving with aquatint and roulette in colors on wove paper
B.2000.20
A View in Somersetshire from Fitzhead, the Seat of Lord Somerville
James Ward
A View in Somersetshire from Fitzhead, the Seat of Lord Somerville
1805
Oil on panel
BF.2024.7
Major Robert Rogers, Commander-in-Chief of the Indians in the Back Settlements of America
Thomas Hart
Major Robert Rogers, Commander-in-Chief of the Indians in the Back Settlements of America
c. 1776
Mezzotint on laid paper
B.94.1
Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 17th Lord Dacre
Andrea Soldi
Thomas Barrett-Lennard, 17th Lord Dacre
1736–1744
Oil on canvas
2008.30