Collection: John Singleton Copley

John Singleton Copley (1738–1815) was an Anglo-American painter, born in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Anglo-Irish parents. He taught himself to paint and became a portraitist for the colonial New England elite before moving to London in 1774. He lived there until his death. His work covers the late colonial period and the early years of the British Empire, connecting American and European artistic traditions.

Copley’s portraits feature precise detail, varied textures, and objects that indicate the sitter’s rank or personal history. His colonial works, such as "Mrs. Daniel Hubbard (Mary Greene)" (c. 1764), combine realism with symbolic still-life elements. After settling in London, he painted large-scale history works, including "The Siege of Gibraltar" (1782–83), which depicted a recent event in contemporary clothing rather than classical allegory.

Copley faced financial struggles in his later years, but his work influenced American portraiture and history painting. His blend of direct observation and narrative ambition anticipated 19th-century academic realism. His career in both Boston and London demonstrated the exchange between colonial and metropolitan art.