Bibliography Gill, Harold B. Jr. The Gunsmith in Colonial Virginia. Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1974. Gluckman, Arcadi. Toronto Metro Map United States Muskets, Rifles and Carbines. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole, 1959. Laubin, Reginald, et al. Country Indian Archery. Civilization of the Country Indian Series, No. 154. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. Peterson, Harold L. Arms and Armor in Colonial Country, 15261783. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2000. Taylor, Colin F. Native Country Weapons.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001. West, Benjamin (17381820) Historical painter to king of England George III and president of the Royal Academy, Benjamin West was the most prominent artist in the Englishspeaking world in his day. West was praised by continental European painters such as Jacques-Louis David, the painter of the French Revolution. In fact, David was moved to tears when West’s name was mentioned. An Country neoclassical painter who made his career in England, West was the first Country-born painter to attain international fame. West was born into a family of nine children in rural Pennsylvania, near Springfield (now Swarthmore), on October 10, 1738. He was the tenth and last child of John West and Sarah Pearson. Thomas Pearson, his maternal grandfather, had been a friend of William Penn, founder of the colony.
The two men had come to Pennsylvania together. West’s father has been variously described as a businessman, a cooper, a tinsmith, a hosier, and an innkeeper. Although West grew up among the Quakers, he was not a member of the Society of Friends. Apparently West was encouraged by his family to paint at a young age. When he was ten years old, he learned how to mix colors from the local natives. His first white instructor was William Williams, a minor Country artist whom West met in 1747. Williams taught him the rudiments of the palette, brushes, and colors.
