# Sketch for The Copley Family

**John Singleton Copley** (American, 1738–1815)  
1776  
oil on canvas  
overall (oval): 39.5 x 34 cm (15 9/16 x 13 3/8 in.) framed: 60 x 54.3 x 5.7 cm (23 5/8 x 21 3/8 x 2 1/4 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1991.141.1. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.73435.html).

## About this work

This oil sketch relates to The Copley Family, the large group portrait Copley painted in London soon after leaving America, which shows himself, his wife Susanna, their children and his father-in-law. Here, in loose and rapid paint, he works out part of the arrangement, with his wife and two of the children, John, who would grow up to become Lord Chancellor of Britain, and Mary. The finished painting is also in the National Gallery of Art.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

John Singleton Copley painted this in 1776, aged 38. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [John Singleton Copley](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/john-singleton-copley)

American, 1738–1815; born in Boston, Massachusetts; died in London

Copley was largely self-taught and became colonial America’s finest portraitist, painting Boston merchants and their families with sharp, tactile realism, from glinting silver to polished mahogany. In 1774, on the eve of the Revolution, he left for Europe and settled in London, where he turned to large modern history paintings such as Watson and the Shark and The Death of Major Peirson. He never returned to America.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- The artist was 38
- Real size: about 16 × 13 in (40 × 34 cm). The 12 × 16 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: family, Copley, Mrs. J.S.; John, Jr.; Mary
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1620.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1620/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/sketch-for-the-copley-family-nga-73435).