Henry Benbridge
Benbridge was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to comfortable circumstances. His father died when he was a boy, and his mother remarried. Thomas Gordon, Benbridge's stepfather had several children. However, he cared very much about Henry. Benbridge went to the academy in Philadelphia which was founded by Benjamin Franklin. As the academy did not offer art courses, he withdrew in 1758. Thomas Gordon, accepting his stepson's talent, commissioned the English limner, John Wollaston, to paint his portrait so that Henry could watch the progress of a painting. Wollaston was popular and fashionable with American Colonists. He was known for his luxurious fabrics, nosegays, and almond shaped eyes. After Wollaston left Philadelphia, there was no one else to give Benbridge lessons. Consequently, he occupied himself with painting copies of engravings by European masters. His earliest surviving paintings are portraits of the Gordon family. The most ambitious of these portraits were group portraits.
In 1765, Benbridge went to Rome to study. During this period, plant forms and landscape vistas were incorporated into his paintings. Technically, Benbridge learned to use glazes in Italy. He learned to build up his paintings with rich, translucent colors which gave a highly finished quality to his surfaces. Benbridge never studied or took an interest in anatomy and never learned to draw. Consequently, he has a tendency to enlarge the forehead and diminute the body of his subjects.
in 1769, Benbridge went to London. There he had contact with Benjamin West, founder of the Royal Academy. Benbridge was distantly related to West's wife. However, he makes reference to her as his cousin more often than not. Benbridge noted that he was glad that West was interested in pursuing "history painting" as opposed to "portrait painting." As a result, West would be able to give him and unbiased recommendation. While in England, Benbridge painted a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. He exhibited this portrait in the Royal Academy in 1770. Upon returning to the United States in 1770, Benbridge carried letters of recommendation from Mr. West and Mr. Franklin.
When he returned to America, Benbridge met his future wife who was a painter of miniatures. They had one son, Henry, called Harry. In 1772, Benbridge moved to Charleston, South Carolina. His wife, son, and mother-in-law followed about a year later. Unfortunately, Benbridge's wife died sometime during the mid-1770s. When Charleston fell to the British in 1780, Benbridge was put on a prison ship and exiled to St. Augustine, Florida with other colonial sympathizers. When all trouble was settled, he painted the portraits of a number of the men who shared this experience with him.
Even though Charleston was freer, and the prisoners could return, it was still under British rule. Therefore, Benbridge chose this time to travel to Philadelphia to settle his mother's estate. It is thought that while there, he stayed with his favorite stepsister, Betsey Salter, at her home outside of Philadelphia called Magnolia Grove. A while later, Harry went to Philadelphia to live with his grandmother and receive an education.
Benbridge returned to Charleston and fared well professionally. In his later years, as his health declined, he lived with his son and daughter-in-law. He died at the age of 69 and was buried in Christ Church Cemetery in Philadelphia on 25 January 1812.
