John Singleton Copley

John Singleton Copley was an American painter regarded as the finest portraitist of colonial America. Born in Boston around 1738, he was largely self-taught yet developed a remarkable gift for capturing his sitters with striking realism and psychological presence. His portraits of colonial merchants, patriots, and their families are vivid records of American society on the eve of the Revolution.

He later moved to London, where he took up grand history painting, creating dramatic scenes of recent events full of action and emotion. His painting of a young man attacked by a shark caused a sensation. Copley bridged the worlds of colonial America and European art, and he stands as one of the most important early American painters.