In an ironic way, this painting also seems to shout that it is imperative to make a point to make the most of each moment. Present Treasures

As art observers are expected to experience smooth or stormy energetic passions in pathetic paintings as the actors' appearances appropriately reflect the appearance of strong emotions. In the traditional practice of art, passions are reflected by facial expressions and gestures. Eighteenth-century associative and sympathetic assimilation of emotions by the spectator theories, however, birthed the practice of an artist imagining and projecting him/herself into the characters' feelings as he/she painted their experiences.

Not only do the Death of General Wolfe and Death on a Pale Horse meet many observers' expectations, these two paintings also challenge viewers to be themselves, just as he did when he clothed Wolfe and his lieutenants in dress he perceived would compliment the moral significance. Despite opposing viewpoints, West persisted with his own conception.

In time, as Roosevelt's introductory words contend, "Art is not a treasure in the past or an importation from another land, but part of the present life of all...

"American Artists and the Louvre." (2006) http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14762514
Baigell, Matthew. A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture. Revised ed. Boulder, CO: Icon Editions, 1996.

"The Death of General Wolfe." (2006). [13 September 2006]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_General_Wolfe.

"Editorial | Academy of the Fine Arts a fitting lifetime achievement award," the Philadelphia Inquirer, November 25, 2005. www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14111388

Evans, Grose. Benjamin West and the Taste of His Times. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1959.

Miller, Stephen. "The Death of Hume." The Wilson Quarterly Summer 1995: 30+.

A www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5006515207

Rather, Susan. "Benjamin West, John Galt and the Biography of 1816." The Art Bulletin 86.2 (2004): 324+.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1996). The Columbia World of Quotations. New York: Columbia University Press. [14 September 2006]. http://www.bartleby.com/66/65/47065.html.

Benjamin West