| Benjamin West Birthplace | |
| Nrhp Type: | nhl |
| Location: | Swarthmore College campus, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates: | 39.905°N -75.3514°W |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Built: | c. 1724 |
| Designated Nrhp Type: | December 21, 1965[1] |
| Added: | October 15, 1966 |
| Refnum: | 66000662 |
The Benjamin West Birthplace, also known as Benjamin West House,[2] is a historic home located on the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It was the birthplace of artist Benjamin West (1738–1820), who was an influential mentor to a generation of American painters, including Gilbert Stuart and Charles Willson Peale.[3] His birthplace was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.[1] It presently houses the dispatch and offices for the college's campus police, along with a visitor information center.
The Benjamin West Birthplace stands on the east side of the Swarthmore campus, just west of North Chester Road off Visitor Center Road. It is a -story stone structure, with a gabled roof pierced by two gabled dormers on each side. The main facade is five bays wide, with a centered entrance sheltered by a gabled portico. The interior does not have any original 18th-century features, the building having been gutted by fire in 1874. At that time its interior was rebuilt, and an ell added to the rear.[3]
The house was reportedly built about 1724, when the area was still part of Springfield Township. Benjamin West was born in this house in 1738 into a Quaker family, but was himself an Anglican for most of his life. He was one of the first American-born artists to be trained in Italy, and settled in England in 1763, where he embarked on a successful career as a painter, working primarily on commission to King George III. He is important in the history of American art for his role in supporting the early careers of a number of Americans who achieved great success, including Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, Rembrandt Peale, and Charles Willson Peale, all of whom he supported both financially and logistically in their development.[3]