DR Loyd Grossman, CBE OBE, will deliver a lecture at the American Museum in Bath entitled How to Paint History this autumn.

Loyd Grossman will discuss the genesis and influence of Benjamin West's most famous picture and explore the personality of the artist who travelled from the backwoods of Pennsylvania to the state rooms of Buckingham Palace and the Presidency of the Royal Academy.

Benjamin West's painting The Death of General Wolfe, was the smash hit of the Royal Academy's 1771 exhibition. In a feat of compositional brilliance, West took the death of General James Wolfe at the moment of victory in the battle of Quebec and used the language of religious imagery to elevate contemporary news to the status of the great events of classical history, mythology, and the Bible. The Death of General Wolfe signalled a revolution in historical painting that influenced the work of Gericault, Courbet, Manet, Picasso, Lichtenstein, and others.

Loyd Grossman explores both why Wolfe has exercised such a magnetic grip on our imaginations for almost 250 years, and how, with this artwork, West helped to lay the foundations of a modern attitude that has affected the way we live and think ever since.

This lecture coincides with the publication of his new book, published by Merrell, Benjamin West and the struggle to be Modern. Loyd Grossman will be signing copies of his book after the lecture.

Born and educated in Boston, Loyd Grossman studied at the London School of Economics and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He is, like West, an Anglo-American 'inbetweener.' He is chairman of the Heritage Alliance, chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust, and deputy chairman of the Royal Drawing School.

The lecture on Friday, October 16 takes place at 7pm. For tickets priced at £10 (or £8 for Museum members) call 01225 820866 or e- mail workshops@americanmuseum.org