ATHENS, GA.- The Georgia Museum of Art (GMOA), located on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus, recently acquired two significant American paintings from the West Foundation Collection of Atlanta, Ga. The foundation gave Benjamin West’s Portrait of Captain Christopher Codrington Bethell (1769) and John Linton Chapman’s Via Appia (1867) to the museum in honor of GMOA director, William U. Eiland, and in anticipation of the museum’s reopening this winter. A native of Springfield, Pa., Benjamin West was appointed historical painter for King George III in 1772 around the same time that he executed the portrait of Captain Christopher Codrington Bethell (1728-1797). While working in London, West became a founding member of the Royal Academy in England, serving as its president from 1792 to 1820. He also taught other important American artists, including