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suburbanbeatnik — American Rococo
Published: 2007-04-02 10:35:01 +0000 UTC; Views: 21821; Favourites: 372; Downloads: 615
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Description
These are two of my favorite people from the American Revolution- Peggy Shippen, the glamorous and fun-loving Tory socialite that fell in love with Benedict Arnold, and Major John André, artist, soldier and spy for His Majesty, King George. Here are the two of them in happier days, when the British occupied Philadelphia through 1777-1778. They're in the garden of the City Tavern, with Peggy exclaiming over her fashionable new 'do and André sketching her.I was inspired to do this painting, sort of, by remembering what a hatchet job both Peggy and André got in Ann Rinaldi's lousy YA novel, "Finishing Becca." In that book, Peggy- portrayed as a cross between Hitler and Paris Hilton- was forever breaking expensive doodads and pitching screaming hissy fits, and was described as "evil" by the Patriot heroine of the book. André, meanwhile, was like a cousin to the wicked Marquis St. Evrémonde in "Tale of Two Cities," the guy who kept running over peasant kids in his coach; he fiddles while Rome burns, so to speak, by planning parties and balls, and he tries to rape our heroine once or twice. Someday, I'm going to do my own book (illustrated, of course!) about Peggy and André... they deserve better!
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Comments: 142
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Thank you! It makes the tragic endings of both Andre and Peggy even more depressing, really.
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Beautiful picture! They both are well portraited in the TV series Turn
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Thank you! I should try getting into that show again, because Andre and Shippen are my faves, but I admit I was bored by the pilot.
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So nice! I recognized who they were immediately.
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I appreciate the effort you've put into portraying these two. While I don't know either of them, it always irks me when many historical conflicts (excepting things like genocide, of course) are portrayed in an entirely black-and-white light, especially something like the American Revolution. A character can be on a different 'side' as the main character without being portrayed as a total psycho; and I'll admit, I cringed when I read how the author of this novel felt a real-life person had to be degraded to "a cross between Hitler and Paris Hilton" just to show that "she's the bad guy!!!1"
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Yeah, don't read Ann Rinaldi's Finishing Becca. It's a pretty awful depiction of the time period; plus Andre is reduced to a mustache-twirling victim.
On the other hand, Donna Thorland's The Turncoat is great! Highly recommended.
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I don't know much about either person, but you certainly did them justice with your painting. You've sparked my interest in learning about the other side of my country's revolution. So many interesting people to discover and learn from throughout history of all different nationalities, races, and opinions.
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Its soooooo beautiful! I find the gowns of that kind very hard to draw.
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It has taken a lot of practice for me to draw them!
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I am crazy about the colors and the lines in this! And youknow I'm history nerd when I saw that picture and I knew who the two were! You did an excellent job capturing their likeness.
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Hey, thanks! That's cool you recognized them-- it seems that a lot of people don't know who they are, which is too bad.
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I love this, it's really beautiful. I also like that you referenced Tale of Two Cities in your description!
Was André the person whose death was referenced in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"?
This picture makes me want to research them, they sound really interesting!
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Peggy and Andre were very interesting people! They deserve to be better known.
Was Andre's death referenced in "Sleepy Hollow"? I don't know-- I haven't seen that movie in ages.
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I think it was only in the book
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I love your drawing style here. What media did you use to create this? At first glance, I thought maybe it was oil pastel but upon looking at it closer, it looks like ink quill strokes and maybe some brush strokes in there with some color pencil over a flat color... did you use multiple media?
Anyway, I love the overal effect of whatever you used.
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Actually, I used acrylic paint. Thanks!
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You have no idea how happy I was when I saw this piece. I always have such a hard time finding people who know about these two lovely figures. The style and colors are perfect for the carefree summer setting.I also love that John is drawing Peggy; he almost seems to be concentrating more on getting her hair's proportions right, instead of listening to her talk about it. 
I read that book too, and I was not impressed. I honestly would not have cared at all if all of the characters were fictional, but her "take" on their history was incredibly one-sided and exaggerated. Her author's note in the back made me itch as well.
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That's so good to hear! I had a lot of fun painting this piece. Peggy wore some incredibly large hairdos in the 1770s. Those Philly girls back then were no slouches when it came to fashion!
Yeah, I am not a big fan of Ann Rinaldi. But she's written books even more offensive than "Finishing Becca." Check out this article about her ghastly book "My Heart Is on the Ground: The diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux girl." It really pissed off a lot of Indians. [link]
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I love those fabulous gals!
Why is she still even writing? "My Heart is on the Ground" sounds like cheap and lazy writing(Google and Wiki-worthy research...). What gets me are her self-loving author's notes at the end of both novels. Do you know if that essay was sent to her?
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Well, there was a big uproar after "Heart" was published, so she must have known what people were saying. However, she might just have just put her fingers in her ears and went "la la la la la," since I have never heard of any apology.
Anyway, have you ever read Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian"? It's a great book, and he's a very cool guy!
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That wouldn't surprise me if she did!
I haven't, but I'll add it to my never-ending list of must-reads!
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Seriously, luff the way it's drawn, and the face expressions.
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Ah, I remember reading about Peggy Shippen and Andre. I love your version of them. They look great! I love how you drew their expressions & poses and the background is beautiful.
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Thank you!
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Oooh, very cool! Your comment adds a lot; it's very interesting to see different sides of these historical figures.
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Thank you! My comments are always crafted with care... I'm so glad you like them.
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I commend you on your fine piece of art. Speaking as someone who portrays Benedict Arnold, I would like to say that is extremely well done with a very close eye to period accuracy which is rare these days.
Well done!
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate that you think I'm accurate. I try, although sometimes I think I don't try hard enough. 
That's so cool you portray Arnold! What reenactment group are you with?
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I am a Sergeant in Captain Issac Craig's Company of Continental Marines out of Vermont. We do reenactments all over New England. We do Fort Ticonderoga every year, we do an event on Hubbardton Battlefield in Vermont, we do events in Manchester Vermont, we do an event on Saratoga National Battlefield.
I've been researching Benedict Arnold for about the past 8 or 9 years at least, and just last year was able to actually put something accurate together. I'll admit it's hard to portray a 38 year old man when you're only 22, lol, but someone has to do it.
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