The Bermuda Group (Dean Berkeley and His Entourage)
1728
Imagine planning a massive college in the middle of the ocean, packing up your friends, and moving to America just to wait for funding that never arrives. That’s the tragicomic story behind this 1728 group portrait by John Smibert, often called the first major history painting in colonial America. We see Dean George Berkeley (the tall clergyman on the right) and his entourage looking hopeful and intellectual, completely unaware their 'Bermuda Project' was doomed. The man in the red velvet coat is busy with a large book, perhaps drafting the curriculum for a school that would never exist.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
Location: Yale University Art Gallery