Of Arms and Artists

July 18, 2016
Staiti, a professor of Fine Arts at Mount Holyoke College, intertwines art criticism and history in this account of five American artists from the Revolutionary period and the role their paintings played in constructing the narrative of the nation’s founding. The artists—Charles Willson Peale, John Singleton Copley, John Trumbull, Benjamin West, and Gilbert Stuart—created the images that have helped to define the Founding Fathers for generations. Staiti skillfully shows how the Founding Fathers were attuned to the importance of visual art in constructing a public image and how they collaborated with artists to, ultimately, shape history. The public was so enamored with Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Washington that one critic wryly commented, “ would be treated like an imposter when compared to Stuart’s likeness of him.” Adams stage-managed his portrait by John Singleton Copley, projecting his own symbolism into the painting with his deliberate choice of suit and positioning (he is depicted pointing to a map) to show a diplomatic mastermind. Staiti pays special attention to the way economic necessity drove the artists. Benjamin West’s desire to retain his lucrative position in George III’s court kept him from displaying patriotic sympathies until the war’s conclusion, while Peale travelled through British-occupied areas to paint portraits of American officers. Staiti shines when recounting the antics of the feckless Stuart, who often took payments for paintings he never finished. History buffs and art lovers will enjoy Staiti’s refreshing perspective. Two 16-page color inserts along with black-and-white images throughout are included.

Starred review from July 1, 2016
How American art inspired a young country.This is an impressive, ambitious undertaking, to tell the stories of five painters--Charles Willson Peale, John Singleton Copley, John Trumbull, Benjamin West, and Gilbert Stuart--while simultaneously showing how they were all interrelated and doing this against the complex history of the American Revolution. Staiti (Fine Arts/Mount Holyoke Coll.; Samuel F.B. Morse, 1990, etc.) begins his intricate narrative in January 1779. While the war waged, the Continental Congress approved funds to have Peale create a life-size portrait of "His Excellency General" George Washington. They felt strongly that art was "capable of arousing potent emotions in times of intense political change." Staiti shows how these painters' works "illuminated the era" when the population was in desperate need of inspiring images, rituals, and myths. Peele would go on to paint more than 100 more portraits. Copley, the "greatest painter in colonial America" and a loyalist, made many such contributions as well, until he felt he had to flee to London to protect himself and his family. West, known in England as the "American Raphael," was born in Pennsylvania and served for more than a decade as King George III's court painter. Peale and other Americans were students of his. He had to wait until he could express his patriotic sentiments in paintings, and his "luscious" painting of the Paris peace treaty signing was never completed. Trumbull, nearly blind in his left eye, served as Washington's aide-de-camp and painted memorable battle scenes. His magnum opus is the majestic Declaration of Independence. Impulsive, witty, profane, and manic, Stuart, writes the author, was the "most talented of them all." His numerous portraits of the Founders were conceived with a "brilliant talent never before seen in America." Throughout, Staiti provides insightful, in-depth discussions of many key paintings, and the book is lavishly illustrated with illustrations and color plates. A lively, splendid history that captures the times with insight, acumen, and a juggler's finesse.

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Starred review from June 15, 2016

Staiti (fine arts, Mount Holyoke Univ.) offers an excellent look at an understudied topic: how the art world viewed the American Revolution. This rich narrative focuses on the lives of painters Charles Willson Peale, Benjamin West, John Trumbull, and John Singleton Copley along with portraitist Gilbert Stuart. (Stuart's rendering of George Washington appears on the $1 bill.) Each lived through the American Revolution and subsequently interpreted those events. What emerges is a story of artists whose imagery has lived on for nearly two and half centuries. These inventors lived in a world where painting certain subjects became a political act. Staiti underscores this by detailing how the artists went nearly bankrupt financially and emotionally. By crafting an informative narrative, Staiti allows readers to learn what meaning can be interpreted from the visual medium. The subject matter is similar to David M. Lubin's Grand Illusions: American Art and the First World War, and Robert Wilson's Mathew Brady: Portraits of a Nation. VERDICT Highly recommended for those who want to learn about the American Revolution, art history, and message in medium.--Jacob Sherman, John Peace Lib., Univ. of Texas at San Antonio

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Starred review from September 1, 2016
In his rousing overture to this altogether exciting and innovative history of the American Revolution, professor of fine arts Staiti reminds us that patriotism requires a shared identity and shared values, and that this conceptual unity is created, in part, by powerful and heroic images. He calls out five largely self-taught artists whose paintings helped forge the new American ethos in the midst of war, civic unrest, and vicious partisanship. Charles Willson Peale took up arms and the paintbrush to fight for independence. Benjamin West, an American in London, created epic historical paintings. John Trumbull fought in the war, was imprisoned as a spy in London, and was encouraged by Thomas Jefferson to paint The Declaration of Independence, which still graces the U.S Capitol Rotunda. John Singleton Copley painted exceptionally affecting portraits of both British and American notables. Remembered as reckless and untrustworthy as well as gifted and garrulous, Gilbert Stuart painted more than 100 portraits of George Washington, including the image gracing the dollar bill. Staiti zestfully chronicles the complex lives of each talented and ambitious artist, revealing how each negotiated the dangerous politics of the time, how they interacted, how their work evolved, and how each contributed to the birth of a new nation and a new art world. He also performs illuminating close readings of their epoch-defining work and keenly explores the popularity of their portraits, which were reproduced as prints and avidly collected, the celebrity trading cards or memes of the day. As he interprets a vast amount of material with vigor and pleasure, Staiti brings new vibrancy and meaning to boldly revolutionary paintings that both commemorate the suffering, conviction, and valor of a specific time and address the timeless struggle for justice and freedom.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)