james mcpherson, mount pleasant , philadelphia, 1762-65 (key work)

James McPherson, Mount Pleasant, Philadelphia, 1762-65 (KEY WORK)

John Adams, 1775: “Rode out of town, and dined with Mr. McPherson. He has the most elegant seat in Pennsylvania, a clever Scotch wife, and two pretty daughters. His seat is on the banks of the Schuylkill. He has been nine times in battle; an old sea commander; made a fortune by privateering; an arm twice shot off, shot through the leg, etc. He renews his proposals of taking or burning ships.”

James McPherson, Mount Pleasant, Philadelphia, 1762-65 (KEY WORK)

James McPherson, Mount Pleasant, Philadelphia, 1762-65 (KEY WORK)

James McPherson, Mount Pleasant, Philadelphia, 1762-65 (KEY WORK)

John Singleton Copley, Boy with a Squirrel (Henry Pelham), 1765 (KEY WORK)

John Singleton Copley, Boy with a Squirrel (Henry Pelham), 1765 (KEY WORK)

John Singleton Copley, Boy with a Squirrel (Henry Pelham), 1765 (KEY WORK)

John Singleton Copley, Boy with a Squirrel (Henry Pelham), 1765 (KEY WORK)

Paul Revere, The Bloody Massacre, 1770

Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe, 1770 (KEY WORK)

Benjamin West: “The classic dress is certainly picturesque, but by using it I shall lose in sentiment what I gain in external grace. I want to mark the time, the place, and the people, and to do this I must abide by the truth.”

Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe, 1770 (KEY WORK)

Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe, 1770, detail (KEY WORK)

Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe, 1770, detail (KEY WORK)

Scipio Moorhead, Portrait of Phyllis Wheatley, 1773 (KEY WORK)

“On being brought from Africa to America”:

Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,Taught my benighted soul to understandThat there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.Some view our sable race with scornful eye,“Their colour is a diabolic dye.”Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,May be refin’d, and join th’angelic train.