# British Manufactory; A Sketch

- By: Benjamin West (American, born The Thirteen Colonies, 1738–1820)
- Date: 1791
- Medium: oil on paper mounted on wood
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Framed: 67.4 x 80 x 5.2 cm (26 9/16 x 31 1/2 x 2 1/16 in.); Unframed: 51 x 65 cm (20 1/16 x 25 9/16 in.)
- Culture: America
- Credit line: Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1919.1018)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1919.1018/1919.1018_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

As part of his work for the British court, Benjamin West produced several compositions celebrating the strength of the nation's economy. In this example, women in classical costumes paint vases, spin, and weave—a comparison of British manufacturing with the accomplishments of antiquity. One of a series of nine related sketches, this design was copied as a large mural decorating the Queen's Lodge at Windsor Castle, a room eliminated by remodeling in 1823.