# 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._

5 works in the collection.

- [Daniel Crommelin Verplanck](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/daniel-crommelin-verplanck-met-10522), John Singleton Copley, 1771. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Mrs. Jerathmael Bowers](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/mrs-jerathmael-bowers-met-10530), John Singleton Copley, ca. 1763. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Mrs. John Winthrop](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/mrs-john-winthrop-met-10531), John Singleton Copley, 1773. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- [Eleazer Tyng](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/eleazer-tyng-nga-50291), John Singleton Copley, 1772. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- [Sketch for The Copley Family](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/sketch-for-the-copley-family-nga-73435), John Singleton Copley, 1776. Courtesy of National Gallery of Art, Washington.