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John Singleton Copley: Visual Arts\Artist\Portraitist
John Singleton Copley: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter\History painter
John Singleton Copley: Politics and Government\Loyalist
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation with matching funds from the Smithsonian Institution; frame conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.77.22
Exhibition Label
Born Boston, Massachusetts
John Adams once proclaimed John Singleton Copley to be “the greatest Master, that ever was in America.” As a teenager, Copley was already satisfying Bostonians’ desire for realistic portraits. By the time he was twenty, he had grown frustrated by the limitations of his provincial environment, where, he complained, art was regarded as “no more than any other useful trade.” Copley longed to visit Europe to study great works of art and escape the political turmoil at home. His father-in-law was among the merchants whose tea was dumped in Boston Harbor during the Tea Party of December 1773. Many other family members were loyalists who opposed the growing demand for American independence, as were clients such as Andrew Oliver. In June 1774, Copley departed for England where, in the flush of new success, he painted this self-portrait. He never returned to the United States.
Nacido en Boston, Massachusetts
John Adams proclamó a John Singleton Copley “el más grande Maestro que ha existido en América”. Desde su adolescencia, Copley se dedicó a atender la demanda de retratos realistas en Boston. A los 20 años, ya frustrado por las limitaciones de su entorno provinciano, se quejaba de que allí el arte no se estimaba “más que cualquier otro oficio útil”.
Copley anhelaba ir a Europa para estudiar las grandes obras de arte y escapar de la agitación política de su país. Su suegro era uno de los comerciantes cuya carga fue arrojada al puerto de Boston durante el motín del té en diciembre de 1773. Muchos de sus familiares apoyaban a la monarquía y se oponían al creciente reclamo de independencia de las colonias americanas, lo mismo que clientes como Andrew Oliver. En junio de 1774, Copley partió hacia Inglaterra, donde, en la euforia de su nuevo éxito, pintó este autorretrato. Nunca regresó a Estados Unidos.
Provenance
The artist's son, Baron Lyndhurst; sold in his estate March 5, 1864.
Mrs. Caspar C. Crowninshield, the artist's great-granddaughter, 1873-1882. Mrs. Gardiner Green Hammond [Esther Fiske Hammond], Santa Barbara, 1915-1938; unknown private collection, Los Angeles; Purchase 1977 NPG
