John Singleton Copley in America"Unexpectedly, John Singleton Copley illuminated Boston's colonial sky," writes one of the authors of this volume. The son of poor Irish immigrants, Copley (1738-1815) became the supreme portraitist of the colonial era before he left his native Boston for England in 1774. Primarily in Boston, and to some extent in New York, Copley depicted contemporary merchant princes, clergymen, and military officers and their wives, as well as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and other political leaders. His splendidly painted portraits provided his sitters, Loyalists and revolutionaries alike, with the opulent images they craved and brought him spectacular material success. |
Contents
Accounting for Copley | 25 |
Character and Class | 53 |
An American Despite Himself | 79 |
Copyright | |
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American Art American Painting American Portraits Amory Anne Art Museum Benjamin West Boston British Captain R. G. Bruce carved Cary century Charles colonial color commissioned Copley painted Copley's portrait costume crayon culture dress early eighteenth eighteenth-century elite Elizabeth England English engraving Epes Sargent exhibition fashion frames Gage Gallery Gardens gown hand Harvard Henry Pelham Hurd Isaac James Jeremiah Lee John Adams John Hancock John Singleton Copley John Smibert Jones Joseph lace Langdon letter to Copley London Mary Massachusetts Historical Society merchant Mercy Otis Warren Metropolitan Museum mezzotint miniature Moses Gill Museum of Art Myles Cooper Nathaniel Nicholas Boylston Oil on canvas painter pastel Paul Revere Peter Pelham political portraiture pose private collection Prown Quincy Reverend Revolution Richard Rococo Samuel Adams Sarah silk sitters social Sparhawk Squirrel Storer style Thomas Thomas Gage Thomas Mifflin traits Warren wife William Winslow women York