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Image Not Available for Saint Thomas à Becket
Saint Thomas à Becket
Image Not Available for Saint Thomas à Becket

Saint Thomas à Becket

Artist Benjamin West (American, 1738 - 1820)
Date1797
MediumChalk with stumping on blue-gray paper
DimensionsUnframed: 17 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches (44.45 x 29.21 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Milton McGreevy
Object numberF64-51/10
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This chalk portrait is a study for a painting and a stained-glass window of Thomas Becket. While Becket stands erect at the center of this sketch, artist Benjamin West has experimented with the position of his feet to the left and right. This drawing allowed West to explore how to represent the Christian saint who was murdered in 1170. Without a living model, West had to construct the saint’s image based on previous representations and personal interpretation.

Provenance

Milton (1903-1980) and Barbara (1905-1996) McGreevy, Shawnee Mission, KS, by December 1964;

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1964.

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