Blyth Book Publication

The pastels of the newly-married John and Abigail Adams are the well-known iconic images of the Massachusetts Historical Society. But these works are only two of the many portraits by the 18th-century Salem artist Benjamin Blyth. I have spent four years learning more about Blyth, validating his works, and assembling extensive biographical information on his sitters who were all affected, for better and worse, by the American Revolution.

So now I am ready to share what I have found with readers and share this important window into the early history of the United States.

My original benefactor is no longer able to support the publication of this project, so now I am on my own to publish this work. The estimated cost is $50,000. To date, I have raised $10,000 from some fellow curators and a few long-time friends and now seek to widen the circle. If any of you are moved to help, thank you. 

Some or all of the text has been shown to American historians, whose comments follow:

Bernard Bailyn, Adams University Professor, Emeritus and James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History, Emeritus, Harvard University: "It will be an extraordinarily impressive work – more than just a study of Blyth to judge from what you sent - and I look forward to seeing it."

Marjorie B. Cohn, former Conservator of Works of Art on Paper, Curator of Prints, and twice Acting Director, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University: "Bettina Norton has teased out the genealogies of a tangled skein of surviving pastel portraits that she demonstrates are by Benjamin and Samuel Blyth of Salem, Massachusetts. … She combines careful examination of the media and methods of the original works themselves, their stylistic idiosyncrasies, and sources and sequelae in prints by their contemporaries with what few archival records have survived. She re-establishes Benjamin Blyth as a real talent among the few Massachusetts artists at the end of the eighteenth century."

Lauren B. Hewes, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts, American Antiquarian Society: "Norton’s work on the American mezzotint prints associated with the Blyth brothers of Salem, Massachusetts, provides a needed reassessment of the role of both Benjamin and Samuel Blyth in the production of some of the rarest prints from the Revolutionary War period. Norton supplies important analysis of the known Blyth oeuvre, as well as useful corrections to previously published sources."

Dr. Gary Milan, collector of Americana: "I read and enjoyed your excellent chapter [Benjamin and Samuel Blyth’s Role in Printmaking]. Congratulations. Great job. Publish it for all to see."

J. Peter Spang, curator emeritus, Historic Deerfield, Inc.: "A truly excellent and fascinating book on Benjamin Blyth. What revelations! Such interesting info. A most important study."

Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., former Curator of American Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and currently Consultative Curator of American Art, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University,: "Very nice article… well-written, thorough .… a perceptive analysis on Blyth… I like it!"

David Tatham, Professor of Art, Syracuse University: "I find the Blyth manuscript full of interest, a good read, and full of lots of careful documentation. …. I hope your works rolls on to publication without delay."

Helena Wright, Curator of Prints Emerita, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution: " This is a splendid piece of work! You have restored an artist's reputation and identified his work, putting to rest some old myths (i.e. Blackburn, Copley), and providing lots of new information."