Centre for Arts, Humanities and Sciences (CAHS), acting on behalf of the University of
Debrecen CAHS
THE DEATHS OF GENERAL WOLFE
Author(s): Irén Annus
Source: Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS), Vol. 13, No. 1/2, The
Long Eighteenth Century (Spring-Fall, 2007), pp. 105-119
Published by: Centre for Arts, Humanities and Sciences (CAHS), acting on behalf of the
University of Debrecen CAHS
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41274386
Accessed: 15-11-2018 09:58 UTC
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THE DEATHS OF GENERAL WOLFE
The
wa
immens
Seven
Y
French
each
oth
Durell
l
General
river,
ju
Prideaux
blown
u
troops
Murray
forces under the command of General James Wolfe defeated the French
army at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. On September 18, Quebec
surrendered to the English.
Of these, the battle on the Plains of Abraham was singled out as the
most influential historical event of the era, and the figure of General
Wolfe, who lost his life on the battlefield, emerged as perhaps the most
celebrated English hero of the eighteenth century. This unprecedented
fame was not simply the result of the decisive impact of the battle and
Wolfe's death in the field, but much rather the outcome of a cultural
production, both verbal and visual, which had evolved around his figure.
Accounts, letters, and poems made tribute to the great General, through
the act of which these texts also created a national hero out of him. A
great many paintings and engravings were also devoted to this theme. All
of them depicted Wolfe's death scene in various ways within twenty
years after the fact, most being simply entitled 'The Death of General
Wolfe." The most popular of these was the painting by American-born
Benjamin West, court painter to George III and President of the Royal
Academy after Joshua Reynolds that acted as the most powerful agent in
the constitution of Wolfe s fame - in both Britain and the United States
because of the various ways in which it managed to meet the demands of
contemporary art lovers as well as satisfy underlying national drives and
ideologies.
Narratives
James Wolfe (1727-1759) joined the British army at the age of 14
and had served in a series of wars under the British flag prior to the
Seven Years' War, including the War of the Austrian Succession (174047) and the Scottish campaign of 1746 against the Jacobites. In 1757, as
Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies 13.1. 2007. Copyright ©
2008 by HJEAS. All rights to reproduction in any form are reserved.
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an acknowledgement of his excellent abilities, he was placed second in
command of the British troops in North America, under Major General
Jeffrey Amherst. His involvement in military action in North America
was quite short-lived, but ever more triumphant. In 1758, his troops
captured the French fortress at Louisbourg, in Quebec, a glorious military
victory, which prompted his promotion to major general as well as his
appointment as head of operations in Quebec. By the following year he
was ready for the final capture of Quebec. After an unsuccessful British
attempt under Murray, Wolfe decided to lead the troops himself.
Following a careful discussion of strategy with his council, ne defeated
the French troops on the Plains of Abraham, in a glorious battle, which
cost him his life.
His physical death marked his birth as a celebrated hero and
cultural icon, accompanied by an immense fame he is not likely to have
experienced during his lifetime. Although historians - as both C. P.
Stacey and John M. Phelan reported - still debate his military talent and
abilities as well as his character, he became a key figure in the evolving
mythology that supported the emerging British Empire. Historical
circumstances seem to account primarily for why he, despite his young
age, unpolished character, and lack of military genius, occupied a heroic
position in the new national epic. Wolfe gained national appreciation at
the time because, despite his shortcomings, he managed to lead the
British forces to victory in what is singled out as the key battle of the
nation's colonial history, the one that secured British power in North
America. When the news of the victory reached Britain, it was received
with euphoria, topped with a heightened sentimentality that surrounded
his heroic end. Wolfe, the promising young officer, instantly became the
embodiment of a growing, triumphant imperial Britain: its emerging
values of nationafism and patriotism, its mercantile and military
successes, as well as its perceived unlimited potential for the future.
This sentiment was further stimulated by accounts of Wolfe's last
day, which began to appear immediately after the battle. Agnes Addison
noted that in his 1930 study "Wolfe and the Artists" J. Clarence Webster
identified fourteen different accounts of Wolfe's death and concluded
that "the most credible narratives cite only three men" (25) with him
when he passed away: "Wolfe [was] supported by Lieutenant Henry
Browne of the Louisbourg Grenadiers, and James Henderson, a volunteer
in the same regiment, and attended by Hewitt, a surgeon's mate" (25).
The most reliable written account is likely the one provided by James
Henderson, who witnessed Wolfe receiving his fatal wound and held him
as he died. Henderson described Wolfe's final moments in the following
words in a letter written in Quebec to his uncle, dated October 7, 1759:
But Oh, How Can I tell you My Dr Sir, Tears flow from Eyes Whill
I Write. That Great, that Ever Memorable Man Whos Loss Can
never be Enough Regreted Was Scarce A Moment With me till he
Receved his Fatal Wound. I my Self Receved At the same time
Two Wounds for I Was Close to him, one in the Right Shoulder and
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one in the thigh. But My Consern for him Was so Great that I Did
not At that Time think of them, When the Genrl Received the Shot I
Caut Hold of him and Carried him of the Field, he Walked About
one Hundred yards And then Beged I Would Let Sit Down, Which I
Did. Then I Opened his Breast, And found his Shirt full of Blood
At Which he Smiled And When he Seen the Distress I Was In, My
Dear, Said he, Don't Grive for me, I Shall Be Happy in a Few
Minutes, Take Care of your Self As I see your Wounded. But Tell
me O tell me How Goes the Battle their, Just then Came some
Officers Who told him that the Freinch had given Ground and Our
troops Was pursuing Them to the Walls of the town, he Was then
Lying in my Arms Just Expirin That Great Man Whos Sole
Ambition Was his Country Glory Raised himself up on this News
And Smiled in my Face. Now, Said he, I Die Contented, from that
Instant the smile never Left his Face till he Deided. (Archbold 763)
Very soon, other narratives that captured the death of the General
began to circulate, some of which later also appeared in a number of
studies on Wolfe. The most widely held account records what came to be
regarded as his very last words: He survived long enough to hear that
the French were giving way, and his dying words supposedly were 'Now,
God be praised, Twill die in peace'" (Erfra and Stanley 212).
Two other utterances, also ascribed to him, became further
markers of his self-sacrificial heroism, as recorded in the book The Great
Republic by the Master Historians by Hubert H. Bancroft. One is the last
line of a 'campaigning" song Wolfe presented during the service he
attended the night before his death, with the following lyrics: "Why
soldiers, why Should we be melancholy, boys? / Why, soldiers, why, Whose business 'tis to die?" ("The Death of Gen. Wolfe"). The other is
related to a story which has Wolfe on the way to the battlefield reciting a
stanza from "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray, the last
line of which had become associated with his figure, at times even quoted
as if his own words: "The paths of glory lead but to the grave" ("TTie
Death of Gen. Wolfe").
The news of his heroic death soon inspired poets as well. Oliver
Goldsmith's "Stanzas on the taking of Quebec, and the death of General
Wolfe" was probably the first poem to depict this event. Originally
published on October 22, 1759, shortly after Wolfe passed away, it is a
lamentation of his death, a celebration of his victory and a contribution to
the power of his legacy. Songs were also composed to honor his
greatness; popular by campfires, they paid tribute to his sacrifice and
offered encouragement to soldiers at war. Three of these, entitled "Brave
Wolfe," "General Wolfe," and "The Maple Leaf Forever," all celebrating
his bravery and love of nation, are still available in recorded form
("Major-General James Wolfe").
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Paintings
Through the orally transmitted narratives and songs Wolfe had
emerged as the symbol for the ideal, virtuous soldier, the true patriot and
the modern hero who had given his life for the glory of his nation. His
words were quoted frequently as words of consummate wisdom. This
heroic reputation captured the imagination of a number of contemporary
artists in England, who chose the death of Wolfe as the theme for their
paintings. Between 1763 and 1776, four well-known paintings as well as
a large number of drawings and etchings rendering his heroism were
exhibited.
The very first depiction was offered by George Romney (17341802). His painting of the death-scene was entitled "Death of General
Wolfe" and exhibited in 1763 at the Society of Artists. It was an instant
success; it earned Romney a prize, and was immediately purchased by a
banker who sent it on to India as a present to the governor of Bengal. As
a result, it was never exhibited again, nor copied or reproduced in any
form. It has disappeared in India and is now regarded as lost. All we have
available is a stuay Romney prepared for the painting, "Head of James
Wolfe," at present part of the Webster Canadiana Collection. This work
depicts Wolfe in contemporary dress, with his head to the side and eyes
looking away. His idealized young face is content and reflects no pain; it
is in a state of acceptance and transcendence, in preparation for his last
moment on earth.
The second rendition of Wolfe's death was completed by Edward
Penny (1714-1791), a noted narrative painter in England, in a work
entitled "The Death of General Wolfe" (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford),
Painted
enny enny
also painted
also in 1763
smaller,
painted
simplified
and smaller,
replicas,exhibited
which were
simplified
also United
a year later replicas, at the which Society were of also Artists. United As
Statesed as models for prints by Richard Houston, Penny's visual
narrative was available to a wide audience and thus became quite well
known in England. Just like Romney, Penny broke with the tradition in
historical painting of United Statesing clothes and settings of Antiquity to
emphasize the universal application of the given historical moment;
instead, he dressed his figures in contemporary garb and located them in
a contemporary setting by relying on various accounts given on the death
of the General. His emphasis on historical accuracy resulted in a scene in
which Wolfe is placed in the center, surrounded by three figures,
approached by a messenger running down the path from the right,
waving his hat, bringing news of the British victory. The central grouping
is supplemented in the original painting by the battle scene in the
background, soldiers fighting, and some bodies lying dead or wounded,
portraying a scene in the turmoil within which Wolfe's death went
unnoticed.
Therefore, the fact that the battle scene is omitted in later copies by
Penny does not really modify the circumstances and implication of
Wolfe's death: that he died away from the battle scene, unnoticed, with
only three people present. This unexciting death scene presented the
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viewer not with a moment in "dramatic modern history, but a moral
exemplar of a military virtue" (Waterhouse 283). Penny's insistence on
accuracy resulted in a painting, which did not satisfy contemporary visual
perceptions of heroic death; it, therefore, failed to capture the event as a
grand historical moment and thus lacked the power through which Wolfe
could have been perceived as a hero. The painting, therefore, was unable
to live up to the expectations established by the reputation Wolfe had
already gained in England.
The American-born Benjamin West (1738-1820) in "The Death of
General Wolfe" (National Gallery of Canada), produced in 1770 and first
exhibited in 1771 at the Royal Academy, presented Wolfe as the
embodiment of a series of virtues regarded as English and as an
embodiment of Britain's national and imperial success. West only moved
to London in 1763 and was thus still living in the Colonies when Wolfe
died. West's painting depicts a heroic moment, painted in the proper
"grand manner" preferred in history painting of the period. Just like
Romney and Penny, however, he also departed from the classical
tradition by breaking the rite of dressing figures on the canvas in togas:
instead, he also rendered his figures in contemporary costume. His grand
narrative immediately became a success; as a result, he himself made five
replicas and a number of other copies and engravings were completed by
several other artists as well.
James Barry (1741-1806), an Irish history painter, arrived in
London when West exhibited his painting. Probably inspired by the
success of West's painting, Barry also decided to paint the neroic death,
but he argued for a faithful rendering of the circumstances as reflected in
the accounts available of Wolfe's death. He completed his painting, also
entitled "Death of General Wolfe," in 1776 (Webster Canadiana
Collection), and exhibited it at the Royal Academy in the same year.
Even though it may have been based on authentic reports of the event, his
version enjoyed little success: it had a much simpler composition than
West's, and was executed much less skillfully. Waterhouse claimed that
Barry's painting was ultimately not merely an expression of his criticism
of West's work, but also an outright attack; it expressed Barry's
disapproval of West ignoring historical accuracy and demonstrated "the
incompatibility of the heroic style with modern costume" (273). These
may be detected in the manner in which Barry painted the figure of
Wolfe: the General seems "to have been first painted in the classical nude
and then draped with modern uniform" (273). His central figure, as a
result, appears to be completely unrealistic and deprives the picture of
any grandeur and pathos, which radiate out of West's. No wonder this
painting remained in the shadow of West's masterpiece and was soon
forgotten.
Nevertheless, people remained fascinated with Wolfe. There was a
considerable market for works that depicted his death for quite some
time, not only in Britain, but also in the new United States. A series of
engravings and paintings appeared in both countries, the last one most
probably being "The Death of General Wolfe" by the American Alonzo
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Chappel, painted in 1857 (Library and Archives of Canada). Wolfe had
also become incorporated into the canonized histories of both Britain and
the United States, just as West had come to be treated as both an
American and a British master painter. Wolfe's and West's intertwined
popularity remained unbroken in the United States up to the late 1980s
when, according to an article in The Washington Times entitled
"Revisionists at Work," the attention to West's painting as well as to the
figure of Wolfe was beginning to wane in college-level American history
textbooks.
About five decades earlier Addison had argued that the painting's
success "was due largely to the subject matter' (23), that is, Wolfe's
death in a historically vital battle. While this must have been the case
when the painting was first exhibited, I contend that its enduring
popularity was much more the result of the particular manner in which
West rendered Wolfe's death. West's painting had eventually become
more powerful than the event itself in establishing Wolfe's lasting fame
insofar as it was able to represent Wolfe as a figure that embodied
modern nationalistic drives.
Benjamin West's Painting
West's painting depicts the dying Wolfe in the middle of a group
arranged in the classical pyramid composition. He is reclining,
surrounded by his men, looking up towards the sky in a trance state, the
visual connection with the bright blue opening in the sky establishing the
path he is about to take, ascending to neaven. His bright clothing also
places him in the focus, as does the attention he receives from his
soldiers: all eyes are on him. He is lying in a position evocative of Christ,
with the British flag of the union above him, reminiscent of the cross,
which not only refers to his death, signifies his saintly qualities and
introduces Christian iconology, but also refers to the changes of time:
this was an era in which one could die for the glory not only of God, but
also of one's nation. Wolfe's most faithful men surrounding him radiate
the drama of the moment, strengthened further by the dark sky and the
fierce fighting on the battlefield in the background.
West's painting earned him great fame first in England and then in
the United States both beause of the nature of the painting itself, and
because of its cultural significance. I contend that its ultimate success as
a piece of art was due to a winning combination of meeting certain
contemporary expectations of as well as introducing exciting innovations
in history painting. West was able to initiate a fresh formula through
which he could cater to both traditional and modern approaches to
painting, creating a vibrant contemporary piece.
The painting effectively combines classical design with
contemporary clothing and scenery. We know that, although this work
had often been singled out as the first history painting with figures
dressed in contemporary clothes, in fact it was not - as shown by the
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pictures mentioned previously on the death of Wolfe. However, while
those paintings also did away with classical composition, West
recognized that the compositional change would not only produce a
painting alien to contemporary aesthetic tastes, but would also deprive
the painting of the sense of pathos and grand spirit necessary to convey
Wolfe's heroism. It was his awareness of the insistence of the
contemporary audience on classical principles, along with his recognitio
that there was a need for change to mark great moments of contemporary
history as distinct, belonging to the present and not the past, that brought
about his new formula. It was so effective because it paid tribute to the
past as well as to the present, connecting as well as separating them
Through this formula he managed to lend the universal value
represented by classicism to a contemporary event.
The nature of the picture itself contributed to its success. Not just a
history painting, it successfully combined various popular genres of th
age, including group portraiture as well as a landscape representation or
"topical illustration, as Erffa and Stanley defined it (62). The landscape
view was "remarkably true to the actual topography of the Plains o
Abraham" (Erffa and Stanley 212), bringing the view of the far away
colony closer to the viewer, making the experience more real and
effective. It also offered a series of portraits: besides Wolfe, six figures in
the central group were identified in the key accompanying the engravin
in 1776, all of whom were alive then and were known to have served in
Quebec at the time of the battle (Erffa and Stanley 212). This sma
gallery of soldiers sharing in the moment of triumph also aroused
attention:
[qts interest to the public was certainly enhanced by recognizable
likeness of contemporary figures as participants in the great event.
West painted replicas of the picture for members of the families of
two of the officers shown . . . The reason for including actual
portraits was to enhance the picture's illusion of actuality and
authenticity, in the same manner that dressing the participants in
correct uniforms or including a convincing view of the place where
the event occurred enhanced that illusion.
(Erffa and Stanley 59-60)
This resulted in a perceived sense of authenticity in the viewer, which
could not be challenged on the basis of any description, as illustrated by
Barry's futile attempt to discredit West's representation of the event.
Simon Schama argues that the painting offers a "synoptic narrative"
of the day's events, in a circular structure, if the painting is read from the
far right-hand side to the left and then back to the front lower right-hand
corner. In his reading, the far right represents events at dawn when the
British troops were anchored down the river, then their landing and
disembarking. As the eye moves on towards the center, the sequence of
the battle scenes are shown, offering an account of the heroic day, with
the scene of victory in which the British infantry defeated the French
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musketeers, depicted in the far left. Then, as the eye moves down to the
front, we see the messenger running to bring news of victory,
approaching the central group assembled around Wolfe. The men on
Wolfe's left focus on his last words, but the soldiers on his right are
already praying and mourning, as if Wolfe had already died, closing the
epic narrative of the day. Therefore, this painting is much more than a
mere capturing of the moment of the death of Wolfe, as all the other
paintings are, but a long narrative capturing the heroism of all the
soldiers fighting in this battle.
At this point, no decisive explanation can be given for this
"synoptic" narrative structure and handling of space, although this was
quite common among certain Native American tribes, such as the Lakota
of the Great Plains (see Nagy). In the Lakota culture, the primary
organizing principle behind the structure of a narrative image was not so
much time as place. Instead of painting a series of events as separate
images, each representing a key moment in a time sequence, West also
packed all the events in the same spatial frame, on the same canvas, thus
departing in its logic of narration from traditional Western temporality.
Although it cannot be proved that West drew on any Native source,
it is common knowledge that he had a keen interest in the indigenous
people of the region in and around Pennsylvania, where he was born and
grew up in a Quaker home. Since his father ran an inn, the young West
met a number of different people, including the Native American
inhabitants of the area. West is quoted to have said to Gait, his first
biographer, that he was "initially schooled . . . not in the academy but by
the . . . indigenous people of the New World" (qtd. in Fryd 79, ellipsis
original). Indeed, he had developed a fascination for the American
Indians, their life, beliefs, history, art, and potential role in the emerging
nation. West also collected Native American objects and pieces of
decorative art, as discussed by King. Fryd argued that Colonel Johnson
from New York, a prominent figure noted for his popularity among the
Northern Woodland tribes, sucn as the Iroquois, "may have provided
West with the Woodland artifacts" (77) which he accurately portrayed in
a number of his paintings in the 1770s, such as "William Penn's Treaty
with the Indians, "Colonel Guy Johnson," and "Savage Warrior Taking
Leave of His Family."
The initial success of the painting in the English capital encouraged
its duplication in various forms. "For those beyond London and even
beyond England who were unable to see the painting, the publisher and
cultural entrepreneur Richard Boydell had William Woollett engrave the
painting" (Scnama 34), a work which came out as early as 1776. It
became immensely popular, at home as well as abroad, bringing financial
success to both engraver and publisher. Boydell made his fortune of over
ten thousand pounds from this single work (Schama 34), and Woollett,
who worked on commission, also earned enough to last a lifetime. The
engraving carried the image to various corners of Europe and North
America, and was soon also applied on various objects, such as
Wedgwood jugs (c. 1778, Webster Canadiana Collection) and seals (late
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eighteenth century, Webster Canadiana Collection). Through these
reproductions the image became widely known on two continents and
eventually three countries have historically claimed the painting, also
assigning a central role to Wolfe and the Battle of Abraham in the
construction of their past: Great Britain, the United States and Canada.
The Painting as Cultural Signifier
"I foresee that this picture will not only become one of the most
popular, but occasion a revolution in the art," said Joshua Reynolds when
he had carefully studied the completed painting (qtd. in Mitchell 21).
Overwhelming sensation came immediately as tne result of West's
reinterpretation of history painting. His new imaginative formula
satisfied the aesthetic tastes and cultural expectations of his audience,
which reflected, as always, dominant contemporary ideologies and
aspirations. This painting provided an effective formula for a series of
romantic history paintings, which figured notably in the constitution of
the newly emerging nation states. As a cultural signifier, it offered a
model, which managed not only to capture, but also to create particular
interpretations and narratives, communities and sentiments, ideologies
and desires.
A painting is transformed into a cultural signifier and the
constitution of its meaning takes place in what Nigel Llewellyn called the
"conceptualized space" (50), located between the painting and its
audience. If culture is conceptualized as reflective of ideology, meaning
"a system of signification which facilitates the pursuit of particular
interests" (Thompson qtd. in Mitchell 78), "a means by which society is
integrated, by which the hegemony of one class or faction is advanced,"
the implementation of which is "a socially intentional process" (Mitchell
78), then cultural signification within this space is expressive of the
ideology dominating public discourses and mental processes. The
opportunity to regard culture as those "complex signs and significations
that mesh into codes of transmission of social values and meanings"
(Harvey 299) may allow one to reveal the ideological power which
shapes these values and meanings. The painting as a cultural product and
signifier, may prove a successful approach in mapping the dominant
contemporary values and ideologies since the instant success of the
painting suggests that its creator was in fact deeply aware, either
consciously or intuitively, of his contemporary cultural milieu and the
ideological constructions.
West had hardly begun this painting when it began receiving
attention, the famous story of which was included in the first biography
of the artist, written during his lifetime by John Gait. According to the
story, West had barely commenced work on this piece when Reynolds
visited him in his studio and, having seen the work, voiced his concern
about the contemporary dress of tne figures. He objected to West's
breaking with the classical tradition since doing so West was "robbing
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history of the universal significance which its narrative ought to embody"
(Schama 26). West responded:
I began by remarking that the event intended to be commemorated
took place on the 13 of September 1758 [a year off!] in a region of
the world unknown to the Greeks and Romans and at a period of
time when no such nation and heroes in their costume any longer
existed. The subject I have to represent is the conquest or a great
province of America by the British troops. It is a topic that history
will proudly record and the same truth that guides the pen of the
historian should govern the pencil of die artist.
(Gait qtd. in Schama 26-27)
Although it may be noted that this last statement sounds
disingenuous, as this painting offered only a partially accurate depiction
of Wolfe's death, two points should be made. One, West's statement
should be interpreted not in absolute but in relative terms, as he did make
a move towards historical accuracy. But he also recognized that his
audience would not find the moral tone and inspirational power they
yearned for and found in classicist paintings if he presented a fully
realistic image. Art had to reach beyond the treatment of common, daily
events in their factuality; it was expected to present events in an
imaginative way, to lend an elevated, noble spirit to the sight, to render
facts as part of a larger narrative. The artist nad to offer ' a convincing
rather than accurate representation of the event" (Erffa and Stanley 57).
The second implication of West's statement lies in the positioning
of the artist and history painting within the cultural realm. West clearly
assigned similar social roles to artists as to historians in drawing a
Earallel
istorianistorian
the written,
betweenthe
theartist
written,
the visual
them: -theshaped
theybyartist
the both
same the create visual historical - shaped narratives by the - same the
considerations, values, and desires. This prominent shift, captured by
West, marked one important aspect of the transitory nature of the period,
pointing to the gradually changing cultural patterns and power structure.
Ellis Waterhouse claimed that the success of the painting was also
tied to the fact that West "realized the value for the artist of the new
feeling of national pride in the achievements of one's own nation" (275).
West's depiction was a move from the universal didacticism of Antiquity
expressed in history painting. He turned to the particular in terms of
nationhood as it was taking shape in the contemporary context: West
painted a moment in history particularly significant for the English
nation. In celebrating Wolfe, his picture also celebrated the triumphant
English national history as well as the powerful English nation.
Moreover, two unexpected figures placed in the central
composition clearly contributed to this marked historicism, offering the
essentially North American context for the events: the Ranger ana the
Native American. Erffa and Stanley argued that West "felt that he was
uniquely equipped to paint" these figures (57) because of his American
background. Tney functioned as obvious cultural signifiers of place and
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time. This artistic intent is obvious if we consider that Native Americans
were in fact not fighting on the side of the British in this battle. Schama
observed that
the most startling fiction of all was the Indian, posed in the Antique
forms of poetic contemplation, precisely the quality commonly
denied to the "Savages' as they were invariably called by the
British of Wolfe's generation. The General . . . had considered them
to be irredeemable barbarians, cruel and depraved and they fought,
exclusively, for the other side. (30)
Yet again, the message West wished to communicate was much
more important than facts. He presented the Native as an unambiguous
symbol of the North American continent. The American Indian was
rendered as a figure that fit the highly romanticized European image of
the noble savage. It was known that West himself had a favorable view
of the Indians; he would thus readily have presented the exotic inhabitant
of North America as embodied with "the essence of natural aristocracy"
(Schama 31). The visual integration of the Native into the composition as
a figure sharing in the experience of the English soldiers also signifies his
loyalty as well as his support and cooperation.
Similarly, the figure of the Ranger on the left represented another
character typically associated with North America. He may be interpreted
as the symbolic expression of the position of the white inhabitants of the
Colonies. He appears not as an enemy but as a faithful subject to the
throne. These two figures brought America into the composition as a
trustworthy partner to Britain in its imperial efforts.
All of these tie in with Stephen Behrendt's conclusion regarding
history painting in the eighteenth century. He found that it was
underlined by various manipulations in which fact and fiction were
combined in order to achieve the desired effects.
The educated viewer accepts the manipulations he finds in history
painting as a part of the genre and generally does not fault the artist
who artificially heightens the sense of drama or decorum,
conveniently removes aesthetically distracting factual details, and
silently adds United Stateseful allegorical or iconographic
embellishments. (43)
I believe that the failure of this recognition, the insistence on factual
realism as opposed to romantic historicism in the paintings was the
primary reason behind the merely modest success of Penny's
composition and the failure of Barry's. They failed to realize that it was
the era of history making for newly emerging nation states, a significant
part of which was the act of self-tailoring in order to convey intended
messages in the representation. In this process, details of factuality
become secondary, irrelevant, if not undesirable, if they distract from the
full romanticism of the historical drama and its effective representation.
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Schama even quoted West as saying: "Wolfe must not die like a
common soldier under a Bush .... To move the mind there should be a
spectacle presented to raise and warn the mind .... A mere matter of fact
will never produce the effect" (28). This recognition was in keeping with
what Llewellvn described as a contemporary phenomenon: "Protestant
churches gradually developed the theory of memoria, which stressed the
didactic potential of the lives and deaths of the virtuous. To illustrate this
didactical theme, images were produced about exemplary 'good deaths' "
(28). The Christian iconology evoked in the painting establishes the
possibility of the sacralized, ritualized death which, it seems to me, was to
serve a similar secular function in Protestant cultures as sainthood had done
in the Catholic world: after their physical death, they seem to be integrated
into the shared memory, as if their lives had taken a course of their own,
loaded with religious and social implications. Llewellyn noted: "In the
process of dying, the death of the natural body was followed by efforts to
preserve the social body as an element in the collective memory ... the
visual culture of post-Reformation England also established and preserved
the social body" (46). This social body was exemplary in the context of
emerging nationalism, expansion, and military power, laying the
groundwork for political and economic superiority. It had also become
integrated into the historical naiTative, contributing to the uniqueness and
unity ascribed to a given nation. And indeed, Barry himself stated that
history painting, like sculpture, represents "the tests by which the
national character will be tried in after-ages, and by which it has been,
and is now, tried by the natives of other countries" (qtd. in Waterhouse
271).
Moreover, the overall aura which surrounded West, the American
in Britain, added to the success. He "was a poetic inventor. He was artful
in constructing an image of himself as the unspoiled colonial - intuitive,
doggedly empirical, innocent abroad - since so much of polite London
found the image beguiling" (Schama 28). He felt entitled to paint themes
tied to the North American land more than anyone else in Britain. The
United States was proud of West for having become the most successful
painter in Britain born in the Colonies. Convinced that he represented the
spirit of the New World, they saw in him their cultural ambassador, the
truthful presenter of the potential in their land as well as the talent with
which he himself was also blessed. "He filled his house with American
pupils, and his pupils with inspiration" (Eliot 20). West's constant
assistance for all students and painters arriving in London from North
America was proof of his loyalty to and love for the land of his birth.
The didactic aims of the painting were also viewed with sympathy
in both countries. As the visual image of virtuous conduct, self-sacrifice,
individual duty, patriotism and martial spirit, Wolfe's figure had emerged
as an archetypal model for contemporary patriotism ana heroic behavior
and expressed how they were socially accepted virtues. West created a
permanent hero out of Wolfe who was claimed by both nations, proving
West's claim true: "the art of painting has powers to dignify man by
transmitting to posterity his noble actions" (qtd. in Eliot 19). The two
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nations, however, contextualized Wolfe's actions differently and
integrated his figure into two different national narratives.
For the British, the painting "touched on an important enterprise of
the Georgian reigns: colonial expansion in North America. The painting
commemorates a signal victory that confirmed England's prowess at
arms and vindicated her policy of enmity towards France" (Lalumia 26).
In aesthetic terms West's piece effectively expressed the new mode of
British political drives and assisted in engineering a social consensus and
overall support for them. The painting came to represent the land as well
as the people of the British Empire on both sides of the Atlantic. And as
the song "The Maple Leaf Forever" claims, Wolfe "planted firm
Britannia's flag / On Canada's fair domain."
In the United States, the construction of a nationhood and
Earticularization
eing history, eing
as washistory,
the case
as ofin was
Europe.
American
But "the
the case
Newidentity
World inwasEurope. relied on But a "the number New of World forces, was one
historically thin" (Miller 7), which had two consequences: the
accentuation of other aspects, such as documents, values and political
principles as well as the environment more than other states; and two,
assigning of special significance to events which were not so prominently
related to American history as much as they were part of British history.
And hence one of the problems of early history construction in the
United States appeared: how to constitute a history, which is distinct,
especially from Britain, when most of Colonial histoiy was in fact a
chapter from British history? This becomes particularly urgent in the
light of Liah Greenfeld's claim that the War of Independence broke out
precisely because the Americans were "better English than the English"
(409) in that they maintained a "sense of exemplary devotion to and
implementation of English values" (409) much more man the English in
Europe. Therefore, conceptualizing Wolfe's life as exemplary of the true
Enghsh values and ideals which England had started to lose but America
was able to maintain offered the logical twist that accounted for the
overall significance of the figure of Wolfe: he had become the
embodiment of true English virtues, including commitment to liberty,
equality, and reason, as well as attachment to the native land and the
government.
This became further emphasized in the nineteenth-century United
States, in an era in which it was a common practice "to ascribe character
traits to whole societies, and then embody those traits in representative
individuals" (Peterson). Wolfe's figure exemplified English values,
which eventually came to be identified as primarily American. By the
second half of the nineteenth century, however, these values came to be
closely associated with the Yankees, eventually contributing to the image
of the North in the course of the Civil War. Discourse in contemporary
American history writing also contributed, by creating an American hero
out of Wolfe's figure, as perhaps best illustrated by Francis Parkman's
book Montcalm and Wolfe, completed in 1884. "For Parkman, Wolfe's
victory over Montcalm at the Plains of Abraham sealed the triumph of
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Yankee virtues over the entire American continent" (Peterson). Or,
another popular song, "Brave Wolfe" goes:
That brave and gallant youth did cross the ocean / To free America
of her division.
Postscript
Benjamin West's "The Death of General Wolfe" went on auction
28 November 2000, in New York's Phillips Auction House. Art and
Auction reported that it was sold for $2,862,500, "the third highest price
for an American painting" that season (67). Its success endures.
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