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Artist
John Singleton Copley, 3 Jul 1738 - 9 Sep 1815
Sitter
Andrew Oliver, 28 Mar 1706 - 3 Mar 1774
Date
c. 1758
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on copper
Dimensions
Frame: 21 x 18.4 x 1.9cm (8 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 3/4")
Topic
Miniature
Andrew Oliver: Male
Andrew Oliver: Politics and Government\Statesman\Colonial statesman
Andrew Oliver: Politics and Government\Lieutenant Governor\Massachusetts
Andrew Oliver: Politics and Government\Loyalist
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee; frame conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.78.218
Exhibition Label
Born Boston, Massachusetts
Andrew Oliver, a longstanding Massachusetts colonial officer, was responsible for enforcing the Stamp Act of 1765, which imposed a tax on all paper in the colony. Although he took the position reluctantly, viewing the act as a “public Misfortune,” Oliver became the target of violent protests that presaged the impending revolution. After destroying his property and threatening his life, an angry mob gathered under the Liberty Tree, the site of patriotic protest. Forced to make a statement, Oliver swore he would take no measures for enforcing an act, “which is so grievous to the People.”
Nacido en Boston, Massachusetts
Andrew Oliver, oficial colonial de Massachusetts por largo tiempo, fue responsable de implementar la Ley del Sello de 1765, que creó un impuesto para todo material impreso en la colonia. Aunque aceptó con reticencia, considerando la ley una “desgracia pública”, Oliver se convirtió en blanco de protestas violentas que presagiaban la inminente revolución. Tras destruir su propiedad y amenazarlo de muerte, una turba se reunió bajo el Árbol de la Libertad, lugar de protestas patrióticas. Obligado a hacer una declaración, Oliver juró que no tomaría medidas para ejecutar una ley “tan penosa para el pueblo”.
Provenance
(Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc., New York); purchased 1978 NPG
Provenance compiled by Hirschl & Adler: Andrew Oliver, the sitter; his son Andrew Oliver, Jr.; his son B. Lynde Oliver, Salem; his nephew B. Lynde Oliver; purchased 1844 by a nephew Fitz-Edward Oliver;his sister Sarah Pynchon Oliver; purchased by her nephew Andrew Oliver; William H.P. Oliver, Morristown, N.J.; his three sons Peter, Seabury and Andrew Oliver; Seabury Oliver, great-great-great grandson of sitter.
