American Art: Colonial America
"Never judge a work of art by its defects" - Washington Allston, 1779
Self-Portrait, Thomas Smith 1680
Although colonial American arts is vaguely dispersed, this self portrait by Smith himself depicts Puritanism ideals in art. Puritans were non-separatists who left England due to political corruption, economic recession, and social stigmas. As a result, they founded their new colony known as Massachusetts Bay in the northeastern region of America. The Puritans highly valued strict religious toleration and believed that they were responsible for showing their community as a prime example to others of what to follow. The simple and dull painting symbolizes how the Puritan way of life was blatantly uncontroversial. Although they did flee from England for 'freedom', as depicted in this piece, the Puritans did include minor details found in original English artwork in these portraits. In the lower left corner Smith has depicted a skull, an element of English painting of around the same time known as vanitas. Similarly, the portrait painted in the backdrop of the scene illustrates ships coming into a port- symbolizing the Puritan’s freedom from England. Through dull and dreary colors, Smith illustrates the non-separatist simplicity of Puritan artwork by illustrating a plethora of both colonial and English details.
The Peaceable Kingdom, Edward Hicks 1833
Quakerism ignited its origins in William Penn’s colony of Pennsylvania. Quakerism was the most democratic of all religious groups of this time period: Quakers followed a peaceful and relaxed approach to religion. Quakers believe that every individual contains an “inner light,” an element of divine that makes them all coherently worthy-- something other religions, such as Puritanism, lacked during this era. Quakers also tolerated religious diversity and did not reprimand those who were followers of other religions. Similarly, Quakers did not antagonize women for being prominent with religious affairs; instead, they were encouraged. As depicted by Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom exemplifies the key characteristics of Quakerism. Painted in 61 different compositions, this scene depicts animals and children taken from Isaiah 11:6-8. These paintings depicted Hicks centralized message, to quest out in finding a redeemed soul. Thus, these paintings were paralleled by the doctrine of “inner light” due to the concept of finding one’s inner soul, or “inner light.”