The Baptism of Pocahontas

This painting by John Gadsby Chapman was painted in 1839 and hangs in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.   More than likely Chapman used Pocahontas as his subject because he had already used her as a subject in 1836.

The year was 1613 or 1614 and Pocahontas, the daughter of Algonkian chief Powhatan was baptized  and given the Anglican name Rebecca.

The painting marks two significant events……it might possibly a depiction of the earliest or least one of the earliest conversion to Christianity and along with Pocahontas’ marriage to John Rolfe created a time of peace between the colonists and the tribes of the Tidewater region.

Look behind Pocahontas……John Rolfe is standing behind her.   Notice the various faces in the groupings.

The painting was installed in the Rotunda in 1840 which might seem strange since the Indian Removals were underway during that period, but this website explains the painting highlights the lofty intentions of the Jamestown settlers and condemns the obstinacy of those who can be understood as ignoble savages.  It propagates the idea of the  the noble savage in Pocahontas, one who is said repeatedly in the literature of the 19^th century to have embodied Christian virtues even before she was converted.  The painting also appears to make a case for the harsh treatment of antagonistic, unassimilated Indians.  The policy of “removal” had begun seven years earlier, and it was apparent at the time Chapman’s work appeared that the entire continent would soon be invaded by ambitious American settlers.

The painting appeared on the reverse of the First Charter $20 National Bank notes in 1863 and 1875.

Chapman created the painting in the loft of a barn on G Street in Washington D.C. and endured several tragedies while the work was ongoing.   His son died in 1838 and his daughter only survived ten days after being born premature.   His financial situation was terrible and was plagued by several debts.    He worked on the painting quickly so he could be paid, however, Chapman noted on his daybook that the fee hardly covered his expenses.

The Treaty of Paris, 1783

This painting is titled The Treaty of Paris, 1783 by Benjamin West.   From left to right John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin, the grandson of Benjamin Franklin are shown.

Why is the painting unfinished?


ElementaryHistoryTeacher over at History Is Elementary provides a wonderful explanation regarding the painting and shares how she would use it in the classroom in her post, An Ending or a Preview.

Beauford Delaney

I love the color in both of these paintings.  They are both from 1946.   The top painting is called Can Fire in the Park and the second is titled Jazz Quartet.   The artist for both is Beauford Delaney.   While both paintings have the same colorful style both represent different situations – one being the downtrodden and the other depicting the wonderful contribution Jazz has made to the American music scene.

Beauford Delaney was an American Modernist who hailed from the South but worked in New York and later Paris.   He studied art in Boston and was introduced to black activism through people like Butler Wilson a board member for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Delaney loved living in New York City among people from various ethnic backgrounds.   His subjects were the people he saw all around him in parks and cafes yet his work doesn’t depict a vision of life in the city.   It’s more than that.   Delaney’s work shows what it FELT like to live in the city.   While living in America’s greatest city Delaney worked as a bellhop and janitor.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum describes Can Fire in the Park as a disturbing contemporary vignette [which] conveys a legacy of deprivation linked not only to the depression years after 1929 but also to the longstanding disenfranchisement of black American portrayed as social outcasts.

Style portrays musical rhythms and bold color use “hovers between representation and abstraction”

The biography, Amazing Grace: A Life of Beaford Delaney written by David Leeming states he led a very compartmentalized life and was rather isolated.   He had friends but managed to keep much of his life private.   He lived in Greenwich Village and had many white friends yet he also fit in with Harlem because of his ethnicity.   Most certainly due to the times he kept his homosexuality secret.

Beauford Delaney moved to Paris in 1953 where his work finally evolved into abstract expressionism.

Gilbert Stuart

As far as portraits of American presidents, Gilbert Stuart was “da man“!


During his career as an artist he painted portraits of the first six presidents. He was unique in that he worked without sketches and began his work directly on the canvas. President John Adams even commented sitting for Stuart was enjoyable since he allowed his subject to move around during the painting process.

Stuart actually began his career at the age of 12 by painting Dr. Hunter’s Spaniels seen below. The painting is exhibited at Hunter House in Newport, Rhode Island.

Every American touches a bit of Stuart’s art every time they use a dollar bill. The Athenaeum or unfinished portrait of George Washington, seen below, is the image that graces the one dollar bill. Over 130 reproductions were painted by Stuart and his daughters though the original was never completed.

Another Stuart portrait became famous during the War of 1812. The Landsdowne Portrait, seen below, hangs in the East Room of the White House. Along with Paul Jennings, a Madison family slave, Dolly Madison saved the painting of Washington from being destroyed when the British burned the White House in August, 1814.

You can find out more about Gilbert Stuart at his museum page