spacer John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley
(1738-1815)
Artist


Painted in London, this image is one of only four self-portraits by John Singleton Copley, who is admired today for his realistic depictions of colonial American sitters. His ambition to study painting in Europe, coupled with the increasingly violent events that led to the American Revolution, made him leave Boston for England and Italy in 1774. He spent the second half of his life in London, where he painted several important history paintings, including Watson and the Shark (1778), as well as portraits. As Copley began to paint larger works, he adjusted his meticulous colonial style to a looser, broader technique, in keeping with British fashion in the 1780s. The pose, strong highlighting, and contrasting shadows of this self-portrait are an example of this new manner.


Self-portrait
Oil on canvas, 1780-1784
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Gift of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and matching funds from the Smithsonian Institution
NPG.77.22

Enlarged image




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