The artwork, titled “American Commissioners of the Preliminary Peace Agreement with Great Britain,” is a history painting by Benjamin West. This piece belongs to the Rococo art movement. The painting is an unfinished depiction of the American commissioners involved in negotiating the preliminary peace agreement with Great Britain, which presumably refers to the preliminary meetings leading to the Treaty of Paris in 1783, ending the American Revolutionary War.
In the artwork, one observes five distinguished figures, four seated and one standing, engaged in a moment of significant historical importance. The central figure among the seated individuals appears to be a prominent personality, possibly Benjamin Franklin, given similar representations in other historical artworks. The other figures, possibly commissioners, are arranged in a semi-circle, with documents and a cloth draped table suggesting the gravity of their discussions. Despite the unfinished quality of the right side of the painting, the artist effectively captured the solemnity and seriousness of the occasion through the detailed expressions and postures of the individuals present. The use of a soft, somewhat somber color palette and the classical drapery in the background are indicative of the Rococo style, which, while generally associated with lighter themes, here underscores a momentous event in history.