STUDYING ART IN ENGLAND
A voyage to England in a sailing ship took time; probably six weeks at
least elapsed before Robert Fulton could discern the long gray coast line
of “Mother England.” If anxious about the new venture, or lonely for the
family he had left behind, he pushed aside all gloomy thoughts and made
ready to meet the new conditions of a strange land.
He journeyed directly to London to present to Benjamin West the important
letter of introduction which he carried from Dr. Franklin. The strong sea
air and the long rest on shipboard had benefited his health, and he was
thirsting to get to work as soon as possible.
His ease of manner and self-confidence had sufficed for the experiences
of Philadelphia, yet it is reasonable to assume that his heart beat
fast when he finally stood, letter in hand, at the imposing doorway of
Benjamin West’s fine house, for it surpassed his expectation of grandeur.
To his eyes it appeared a palace! The main house was connected by a long
art gallery with the studio, a lofty suite of rooms, filled with sketches
and designs for historical paintings; for West had specialized in this
form of art and had already been favored by royal recognition. Approval
by the king was the highest honor England could bestow, and in time West
was elected president of the Royal Academy. If young Fulton had profited
by his personal intercourse with Dr. Franklin and other men of genius
in America, we may readily believe that he gained even greater mental
stimulus from West, who, like himself, was a Pennsylvania farm-bred boy.
West and his wife gave the young American a hearty welcome and an
invitation to stay in their home until he found suitable lodgings. He
gladly accepted their kind hospitality and a strong bond of friendship
was formed between the two men which endured throughout their lives. One
of the finest portraits we have of Robert Fulton was painted by Benjamin
West.
It is said of West that his work was never a burden to him but always a
joy. He sat at his easel as though in sport, not in labor, and painted
more than a hundred portraits, in addition to large canvases depicting
historical scenes. In studying the life of any and every great man, his
industry becomes our wonder. The same number of hours—twenty-four—are
allotted to us all, yet how sadly different are the results accomplished,
how differing the totals! Hard and well directed work is always the
secret of success.
It was not long before Robert Fulton’s easel was set up in West’s studio,
and, under the tuition of the older man, the student was working with
infinite pains. West must have seemed to Fulton like a king among men,
and he endeavored to gain all possible profit from the master’s lessons.
His dear mother, on the Pennsylvania farm, must have been greatly cheered
when she received letters from over the sea. She treasured the following,
written by Fulton’s friend George Sanderson, of Baltimore. Yellow with
age, it is still carefully preserved. It begins with old-time formality.
BALTIMORE, 25th July, 1788.
MADAM;
I am happy in informing you that I arrived here a few days
since from London where I had the pleasure of meeting with
your son, Robert Fulton. He was when I left him in perfect
health & what will I believe be pleasing information to you,
that his improvement in the liberal art of painting is almost
incredible. Add to this his personal accomplishments & prudent
behavior has gained him many friends & those who have ability &
inclination to befriend him.
Mr. West, a Gentleman who is the King’s Historical Painter &
a Man of independent Circumstances I am happy to inform you is
number’d among his Friends & has in consequence of your Son’s
ingratiating address & manners, patronized him.
He further speaks of “Bob’s regret that his friends have not dropped him
a line since he arrived in England,” and offers to forward any letters
that may come enclosed to his care in Baltimore. The letter, with its
quaint phrases, gave good reason for joy in the quiet farm-house by Cross
Creek.
Although Fulton stayed for a time with Mr. and Mrs. West in their
delightful home, the burden of self-support was before him. He soon found
lodgings in the vicinity, but a “guinea a week” was too great a price for
his slender purse and he made another change; in fact, he made several
during the succeeding years, “to suit his convenience” as he terms it in
a letter to his mother, but he always arranged to reside near Mr. West.
You will notice that George Sanderson spoke of “Bob’s personal
accomplishments and _prudent behavior_.” It is well to make a special
mental note of this latter fact, for many a temptation comes to a youth
in a strange land, yet there never echoes a whisper of reproach against
Fulton’s conduct. This “prudent behavior” was a safeguard to his
character; he was merry-hearted and had many friends but all of the right
kind.
On April 14th, 1789, Fulton wrote his mother that he was in perfect
health and had good prospect of succeeding in his profession. He
confessed that “painting requires more study than I at first imagined, in
Consequence of which I will be obliged to stay longer than I expected.
But,” he adds, “all things work together for good and I am convinced my
exertions will have a good tendency.” There is brave hope in the letter
but a touch of home-sickness: “In your next letter,” he continues,
“please to give me a very particular account of everything you know,
particularly how you like the little farm,—if you have a good garden, and
what kind of neighbors you have got. And in fact I should like to know
everything that will give you pleasure or promote the happiness of the
family. There is nothing interrupts my happiness here but the desire of
seeing my relations, but time will bring us together and I hope at my
return to see you all happy as the day is long.”
It is a very human letter, just such as any fond son might write from a
strange land. The constancy of affection, the admission of loneliness,
the confession that his task is hard and long, yet withal, the brave
faith in the Bible promise taught by his good mother that “all things
work together for good,” is stronger than any note of weakness.
It was not long before Fulton’s winning manner gained him a host of
friends in London, for in West’s studio he met many prominent men, and
they in turn introduced him to others. With one of these, Mr. Henry
Fulton, a distant kinsman, he became intimate and arranged that all his
letters should be sent in this gentleman’s care, for he was a London
merchant and well known. Mails were very irregular in those days, and it
was uncertain whether a letter, even when properly started, would reach
its destination. Postage rates were high and kindly friends who were
crossing the ocean carried packets of letters which they passed on to
other travelers, until the missives finally reached the persons for whom
they were intended.
At this point we may let Fulton tell his own story, for none could tell
it so well. The letters which follow are intimate; they confide the
secrets he withheld from those about him and confided to his mother only
when times brightened and his success as an artist became certain.
Although happy in forming new friendships in a new land, Fulton could not
forget the comrades of his early days. The fifty letters he so casually
alludes to in the following letter probably represent but a few of the
many friends whom he cherished in memory and desired to touch with that
far-reaching wand, the pen of remembrance.
The letter to his mother was written from London on July 31st, 1789.
AFFECTIONATE MOTHER;
With pleasure I imbrace every opportunity to write you and
these letters will be carryed to Phila. by Mr. Benjamin Barton;
but as I wrote you some time ago in answer to letters which I
Rec’d from you and Polly, to which Letters I have as yet had
no answer, this must be a short one In which I must only give
you some account of private affairs. My health is perfect: this
Climate agrees well with me; my Prospect is good and In Short
I am very happy as I have many Respectable Friends. But the
Emence desire to see you, together with the rest of my Family
gives me many anxious hours And but for this I could sit myself
down with Content in England. But I love my Country and Friends
And no Consideration shall separate me from them—this is my
present Resolution. But why do I make this promise?
Alas I am possessed of no more fortitude than other Men, and
some unforseen Stroke may separate us for ever; but hope is
ever by my side and I hope ere long to have the pleasure of
seeing all of you.…
As I am frequently changing my Lodgings to Suit my Convenience
I Shall now give you new directions for your letters. It is to
a permanent Merchant’s house, a namesake and Intimate friend
of mine, and the letters will be much more likely to find him
than me in which case I shall allways get them. You must direct
them exactly thus
Mr. Robert Fulton,
Painter,
To the care of Mr. Henry Fulton,
No. 9 Watling Street,
London.
I beg you’l pay particular attention and have them precisely in
the above manner and if they come to London I am sure to get
them.…
You must excuse the shortness of this letter as I am under
the necessity of writing to my Phila., Virginia, New York,
Lancaster and Baltimorien friends, which in the whole makes 50
letters of much the same length as this. Therefore to conclude
this I shall (torn place in paper) be very particular and let
me know every thing that you possibly can when you write—to
write small and close that you may say a great deal in small
compass for the ships often put the letters ashore at the first
port they make, they come post to London And I have often paid
half a guinea for a small package of letters. The better to
accomplish this you better buy letter paper as it is thin for
we pay according to the weight and not the size so if you can
send me a pound of news upon an ounce of paper I shall save
allmost a guinea by it.
I have just left myself room to wish all of you every happiness
and love and Compliments to Mr. Smith, Polly, Abraham, Bell
Peyton and all Friends And believe me to be everything that is
dutifull and affectionate in a Son, Brother and Friend,
R. FULTON.
He adds in postscript:
I was happy to hear by your last letter directed to Mr. West
that you were down in the Country among our old friends and
that they together with my good old Grandmother were in good
health.
This letter fairly depicts Fulton’s hopes, longings, and accomplishments
during his student days in London. They were days of anxiety and of
hard work; for hours he would ponder over the “ways and means” of life,
and had it not been for the friendship of kindly acquaintances he might
have yielded to despair, or have been tempted to set aside the chosen
career. In poetic terms he speaks of “Poverties’ cold wind and freezing
rain”; and it is evident that he suffered, as far as his happy nature
could permit, the pangs of loneliness and of almost actual hunger. Yet
he pressed on with his work, and in time the magical wand of industry
wrought a welcome change.
So passed the first four years of his stay in England, years of fresh
impressions, strict economy and untiring labor. Added to his anxieties
were the entreaties of his mother to return home, for he writes, November
21st, 1790, “You must not be uneasy at my not returning home as soon
as I first intended for it is of the utmost importance my continuing
to prosecute my studies in London, and were I to return I must live in
Phila. or New York, which would still be distant from you. Besides the
certain method by which we have letters from each other ought to make us
easy.”
His joy was great when in 1791 he attained the honor and pleasure of
admission of two of his canvases to the Royal Academy and four others to
the Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists; the former were
portraits of young gentlemen, the latter more ambitious works similar to
West’s—a study from the Bible story, “Elisha Raising the Widow’s Son,”
and “Priscilla and Alladine” from Spenser’s “Faerie Queen.”
It was natural that he should take up the study of English history at
this time, and two paintings, “Mary Queen of Scots” and “Lady Jane Gray”
are interesting and beautiful examples of his art. Both were painted in
1793. No doubt West encouraged and instructed him in this sort of work,
and Fulton dreamed of a brilliant future like that of his teacher.
We are grateful for the light which the letters already quoted cast upon
the years Fulton spent in England, for, until their discovery, this
period was obscure. After he had attained fame, his letters and drawings
were treasured, but as a humble student in a strange land, it was
difficult to follow his routine of life. At the close of a hundred years,
when the city of New York celebrated the discovery of the Hudson River
and Fulton’s successful steam navigation upon it, descendants of Fulton’s
sisters lent to the New York Historical Society for exhibition, these
interesting documents which throw some light on the early years of the
inventor’s life. They had been treasured by his dear old mother on that
distant Pennsylvania farm, and handed down through several generations to
the present owners.