St. Thomas à Becket

Artist Benjamin West (American, 1738-1820)

Date1797

DimensionsFrame: 58 × 31 1/8 × 2 1/2 in. (147.3 × 79.1 × 6.4 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1959.32

Not on View

Label TextLike the painting of St. Michael to the left, this image of medieval saint Thomas à Becket (1118–1170) is a design for a window commissioned by William Beckford for his country estate, Fonthill Abbey. American-born artist Benjamin West depicted Becket (1118–1170) in his role as Archbishop of Canterbury, though in his right hand he holds an attribute from his previous position as Lord Chancellor to King Henry II, the purse containing the royal seal. Shortly after his martyrdom in 1170, the cult of St. Thomas à Becket spread quickly in Europe, and his image often appears in medieval art (the Museum owns a 13th-century relic box depicting Becket’s murder). William Beckford was probably drawn to this subject by his passion for the Middle Ages; he also may have empathized with Becket’s fall from the king’s graces. The design was executed as a grisaille (monochrome gray) stained glass window. The legs are foreshortened to compensate visually for the intended high placement of the window, which is today located in St. Mark’s Church (also known as the Lord Mayor’s Chapel) in Bristol, England.Published ReferencesPublic Characters of 1805, London, VII, 1805, p. 561.

Barlow, J., Columbiad, a Poem, Philadelphia, 1808, p. 398.

"A Catalogue of the Works of Benjamin West, Esq.," Supplement to La Belle Assemblée, IV, July 1, 1808, p. 14.

Galt, J., The Life, Studies and Works of Benjamin West Esq., London, 1820, II, p. 220.

Magnificent Effects at Fonthill Abbey, Wilts. to be Sold at Auction by Mr. Christie...Sept. 17-26, 1822, London, 1822, no. 90.

Rutter, J., An Illustrated History and Description of Fonthill Abbey, Delineations..., London, 1823, p. 31.

Phillips, H., The Pictures and Miniatures at Fonthill Abey, Catalogue of...Paintings, Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, 1823, p. 259, no. 250 (St. Michael and the Dragon) and no. 251 (St. Thomas à Beckett).

"New Accessions," The Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 5, no. 3, Autumn 1962, p. 67, repr.

Rogers, M., Jr., "Benjamin West and the Caliph; Two Paintings for Fonthill Abbey," Apollo, LXXXIII, June 1966, pp. 420-425, fig. 3.

Young, Mahonri Sharp, "From Howling Wilderness to Queensborough Bridge," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 496.

Dillenberger, J., Benjamin West: The Context of His Life's Work, San Antonio, 1977, pp. 109, 151, 194, 209, fig. 76.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, American Paintings, Toledo, 1979, pp. 110-112, pl. 8.

Staley, Allen, The Paintings of Benjamin West, New Haven, 1986, no. 415, pp. 395-396, 400-401, repr. (col.) p. 103.

Adams, Henry, American Drawings and Watercolors from the Kansas City Region, Kansas City, 1992, p. 75, fig. 3.

Exhibition HistoryLondon, Royal Academy, 1798, no. 267.

Allentown (PA) Art Museum, The World of Benjamin West, 1962, no. 24, repr.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Treasures for Toledo, 1964.

San Antonio Museum of Art, Revealed Religion: Benjamin West's Commissions for Windsor Castle and Fonthill Abbey, 1983, no. 42, pp. 58, 73, repr.