Benjamin West

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Benjamin West
1738-1820
The Three Marys at the Sepulchre
Pen and brown ink and wash on paper; border in brown wash on old mount; laid down.
4 1/8 x 3 1/4 inches (104 x 83 mm)
Purchased as the gift of Mrs. Robert H. Charles.
1970.11:84
Notes: 

This drawing illustrates the biblical passages of Luke XXIV, 3-6. It may be a compositional sketch for West's painting, "The Women at the Sepulchre of Jesus Christ," exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1800. The location of the painting is no longer known.

Inscription: 

Signed in black chalk at lower right, "B. West".

Provenance: 
Estate of the artist; by descent; Harry Margary, the great-grandson of Maria West (daughter of Raphael Lamar West, and granddaughter of Benjamin West); Thos. Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London; from whom purchased 60 drawings, 17 June 1964, and 197 drawings, 15 February 1965, by M. Knoedler and Co., Inc.; from whom purchased 257 drawings by the Morgan Library in 1970.
Associated names: 

Charles, Robert H., Mrs., donor.

Bibliography: 

Kraemer, Ruth S. Drawings by Benjamin West and His Son, Raphael Lamar West. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1975, no. 65, repr.

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