Cupid Inspiring a Maiden

1765

Benjamin West American, 1738-1820

Not On View

Cupid Inspiring a Maiden: 1 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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About the Artwork

Title Cupid Inspiring a Maiden

Artwork Date 1765

Artist Benjamin West

Life Dates 1738-1820

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Pen and brown ink on blue laid paper

Dimensions Sheet: 12 3/4 × 9 inches (32.4 × 22.9 cm) Mount: 18 × 14 1/4 inches (45.7 × 36.2 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit City of Detroit Purchase

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 48.206

Markings

Signed Signed and dated, in pen and brown ink, lower left: B. West 1765 Signed, in pen and brown ink, on mount, center, verso: Benj..West

Inscriptions Inscribed, in pencil, on mount, lower right: Signed on back Inscribed, in pencil, on mount, lower left: 2480 Inscribed, in blue pencil, on mount, upper center, verso: WCA 1063 Inscribed, in pencil, on mount, lower left, verso: West | Cupid inspiring a Maiden to write of love | Produce of England

Marks Printed, on label, affixed to mount, lower center: SIR BENJAMIN WEST, P.R.A Stamped, on mount, in black ink, lower left: Sir Robert Witt (Lugt supplement 2228b) Printed, on label, affixed to mount, upper left, verso: F.TANTON, F.A.I., | 341 Printed, on label, affixed to mount, center, verso: 265 Cupid inspiring a Maiden to write of | Love, 12½in. by 9in., pen-and-ink on a slate grey | ground, within a border of vari-coloured wash | and lines, cardboard mount s.b. & f., | d.1785... Stamped, in black ink, lower right, verso: Sir Robert Witt (Lugt suppl. 2228b)

Provenance

1948-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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