Bishop George Berkeley

In 1726, the Anglican clergyman and philosopher George Berkeley wrote, “Westward the course of empire takes its way,” a verse that later fueled the expansionist ambitions of the United States. Three years later, Berkeley journeyed to Newport, Rhode Island, in the company of the Scottish-born artist John Smibert, who painted this portrait shortly before their departure from London. Berkeley appears in clerical robes, pointing toward Bermuda, where he hoped to establish a missionary college. His plan, which went unrealized, was to transport young Native Americans to Bermuda (by force, if necessary), convert them to Christianity, and train them alongside young Englishmen. Having failed to secure funding for the school, Berkeley eventually left Newport and returned to London. Smibert, who had planned to be an art teacher at the Bermuda college, relocated to Boston and became one of the first professionally trained portraitists in the North American colonies.