Description:
Engraving titled "The Death of General Wolfe" engraved by William Woolett (1735-1785), who became an engraver to the King in 1775, based on Benjamin West's (1738-1820) "Death of Wolfe" done in 1770 and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1771. West left America for Italy in 1759 and then to England in 1763, where he was commissioned by King George III to create portraits of members of the royal family and appointed historical painter to the court in 1772. Major-General James Wolfe (1727-1759) was placed in command of the British forces in the expedition against Quebec in 1759. His troops successfully attacked Quebec on Sept. 13, 1759; five days later, the French surrendered ensuring the English control of Canada. However, the Battle of Quebec took the lives of Wolfe, the French commander in chief, Montcalm, and 1500 French soldiers. Wolfe became a romanticized hero in England, and his prints were also popular in the American colonies. Wolfe's memory was particularly revered in Boston and other New England newspapers printed poems and odes to his courage and sacrifice. The rectangular scene, surrounded by an elaborate classical border, depicts a dying Wolfe laying on the ground supported by two men, a Grenadier and volunteer, kneeling behind him; and man is coming from the left side, with his hat in his right hand and his left arm uplifted, to announce the French surrender. Wolfe's hat and rifle are on the ground in front of him. There is a line of marching men in the background, with a dead man on the ground. At the bottom: "Painted by B. West Historical Painter to His Majesty", "Engraved by Wm Woollett Engraver to His Majesty" and "Published as the Act directs January 1st 1776 by Messrs. Woollett, Boydell & Ryland, London."
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+78.101 |
