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.
- In the collection
- 5 worksDated 1760–1776
- Mostly
- Painting
- Courtesy of
- The Met, The National Gallery of Art
