The baptism of Pocahontas was commissioned in 1837 and was installed in 1840 in the U.S Capitol. This painting is of the ceremony of Pocahontas being baptized in an Anglican church around 1613 or 1614 in Jamestown, Virginia. Pocahontas was given the name Rebecca as her Christian name. At the time this painting was occurring, Chapman’s son died and then two weeks later his daughter was born prematurely and died hours later. Not only was he dealing with two tragedies, he was also under an enormous amount of pressure to get the painting done because he needed money. All of this pressure and sadness may have effected his work in this particular painting. Since he was under pressure to finish this painting, he may not have given his best work and
