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John Singleton Copley / ˈkɑːpli / RA (July 3, 1738 [1] – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was suspected to be born in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish.
Learn about the life and work of John Singleton Copley, the most influential artist in colonial America. Explore his portraits of elite patrons, his historical compositions, and his career in London.
Learn about the life and work of John Singleton Copley, the supreme colonial artist and the greatest American painter of the eighteenth century. Explore his portraits of American founding fathers, his neoclassical style, and his artistic legacy.
- American-British
- July 3, 1738
- Boston, Massachusetts
- September 9, 1815
John Singleton Copley’s dramatic painting Watson and the Shark (1778) depicts a shark attacking 14-year-old Brook Watson. The work caused a sensation when it was exhibited at London’s Royal Academy in 1778.
Learn about the life and works of John Singleton Copley, who was born in Boston in 1738 and became a leading artist in England. See his paintings of historical and contemporary subjects, as well as his portraits and miniatures.
Learn about the life and work of John Singleton Copley, the most celebrated American artist of the 18th century. He was a portraitist in Massachusetts and a history painter in England, and created miniatures and watercolors on ivory.