Benjamin West and his Cat Grimalkin

Today Benjamin West is remembered because he was the father of American painting: and many like to think of him as the only American ever to become President of the Royal Academy of England. Benjamin West grew up in a deeply religious Quaker family. Quaker beliefs forbid the use or creation of images or icons in a strict adherence to their view of the second Commandment barring graven images. With the help of his faithful Indian friends - who taught him to create colors from the elements of the earth, and his faithful cat Grimalkin - who willingly sacrificed the hairs of his tail for Ben's paintbrushes, the aspiring artist continued to paint the scenes of his bucolic childhood growing up in the wilds of Pennsylvania.