The painting was commissioned in 1770 or 1771 by
Thomas Penn, one of three sons of
William Penn. It was completed in 1771–72. West was a local artist who was born in
Springfield, Pennsylvania and grew up in
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania in suburban
Philadelphia. Like Thomas Penn, West was born into a
Quaker family. Also like Thomas Penn, he later turned to the
Church of England. He studied in Philadelphia but developed as a painter of historic subjects in London, where he was the second president of the
Royal Academy of Arts. His reputation for
history painting was established in the early 1770s with his painting of
The Death of General Wolfe. For the image of William Penn, West copied a relief portrait made from memory by Silvanius Bevan several years after Penn's death. West had no models for the Indian subjects, so used sketches of sculptures, adding Indian artefacts, such as beaded moccasins, arm bands, and bags, and clay pipes. The crowd is gathered around a white cloth which draws the eye at the center of the composition, like a campfire or the
Christ child at the centre of a
nativity scene. The painting presents an idealized picture of interaction between the Indians and the Europeans, glossing over recent difficulties such as the
Walking Purchase in 1737 and the
Treaty with the Six Nations in 1744, but harking back instead to Penn's wish for peace. The muscular Indians are dressed and decorated in green, red and white, with feather headdresses, partly shaved heads, beaded armbands and headbands, and large earrings. They lean forward, keen to see what they are being offered. Original items of clothing that were used as a model for portraying Native Americans in the painting can be found in the
British Museum's collection (as well as additional indigenous artefacts used in other paintings by West). The Europeans are shown in more somber clothing typical of 1771, in shades of browns and greys, rather than the more decorated styles of 1682; Penn is picked out by his white neckcloth. The Europeans stand back, reversing their contemporary keenness to acquire land from the Indians. The crowd includes West's own father (the elderly gentleman with white hair, third to left of Penn) and his half brother Thomas West (behind Penn). West also added brick-built buildings from his own memories of Pennsylvania, even though they had not been built by 1682. The canvas measures high by wide. The painting was purchased at auction by Joseph Harrison and brought to Philadelphia. On Harrison's death, it was given to the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the United States National Museum of Independence. It has been exhibited at the
State Museum of Pennsylvania in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state capital. ==Prints==