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Aegisthus Viewing the Body of Clytemnestra
Benjamin West (American, 1738–1820)
1758–1820
Medium/Technique
Pen and brown ink (bistre) and wash over graphite pencil
Dimensions
21 x 30.6 cm (8 1/4 x 12 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift in memory of John Hubbard Sturgis by his daughters, Miss Frances C. Sturgis, Miss Mabel R. Sturgis, Mrs. William Haynes-Smith (Alice Maud Sturgis), and Miss Evelyn R. Sturgis
Accession Number42.606
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsDrawings
DescriptionPreparatory drawing for a painting exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1780, now lost or destroyed. Story is from Sophocles' Electra; related mezzotint by Valentine Green, 1786; related drawings at the Morgan (1970.11:61) and Swarthmore. See Kraemer, 207.
ProvenanceJohn Hubbard Sturgis (1834-1888); Miss Frances C. Sturgis, Miss Mabel R. Sturgis, Mrs. William Haynes-Smith (Alice Maud Sturgis), and Miss Evelyn R. Sturgis (daughters of the John Hubbard Sturgis); gift to MFA, December 10, 1942.