Benjamin West and the Struggle to be Modern

"When he painted The Death of General Wolfe in 1770, Benjamin West helped to change the course of art. In this engaging new study, Loyd Grossman explores how, through its depiction of a heroic contemporary event, one of the eighteenth century's most iconic artworks gave visual expression to Enlightenment ideas about history and progress, and laid the foundations of a modern attitude that prevails to this day."--Publisher's description.