Portraits of americas most important colonial portrait painter. Room, you can think back to the words of john adams, 1917, he said, when you see these portraits, he wants to discourse with them. You want to ask them questions and receive answers. I dont think you can paint it much better than that. These portraits show you these very substantial, realistic figures, they are comfortable in their setting. You have a sense that these two men have had successful lives. They are in a good place. Women, theyings of are sometimes so ravishingly youthful in their attention to fabric, texture, the beauty of skin like this portrait. Painted in 1763. Look at the beauty of that fabric, the flowers she is holding. The lace sleeves on her dress. You can see his training and engraving and fine detail. There is an interesting story to this woman. She was very wealthy. A simulated a huge amount of wealth and the shipping industry. They had a home in newport. Very active in political affairs. He was a j
The british soldier and british commander of the area. He wrote to him offering intelligence in exchange for protection from the soldiers for some cash. This was not discovered until the 20th century when clintons papers went to the Clements Library in ann arbor and this correspondence was discovered. So it doesnt look like he got much assistance, much protection, or much cash because his circumstances were considerably reduced after the war. He and his wife moved to providence where they set up a shop. He became a shopkeeper and they had a boardinghouse. So the question is, did ann know about his traitorous activities . We dont know, but it doesnt take away from this beautiful portrait of this very young, very confident, selfassured looking young woman with her beautiful garland of flowers and her beautiful lace sleeves. Another portrait in this room of a woman by copley is this one of Abigail Smith babcock, the wife of another wealthy merchant, who was not a spy. He was a patriot, an
Massachusetts merchant and political figure. He was 82 when this was painted. Copleys shown him just as he was. Youll notice the way hes painted the face and the hands is a little different. This is 12 years later. Copleys changed his technique, so the hands are painted with al little bit more fluid paint and in the face as well. Its easier to show the details, so copley is changing and developing as he goes along through his career in boston. Il so copleys portraits of men po show you these very substantial realistic figures that look ial comfortable in their setting an you have a sense that they had, these two men especially, that , theyve had successful lives and theyre in a good place. His paintings of women sometimee are just so ravishingly beautiful in their attention to fabric and texture and the o beauty of the skin, like this portrait of Anne Fairchild bowler. Ms. Metcalfe bowler. This was painted in 1763, so about the same time he was proac painting epes sergeant, but its a t
Comfortable. Copley has given us more than just a representation of his features, but we have a sense of his status and his feeling about himself. Hes painted copley has a great attention to detail. He doesnt leave anything out. Hes got the mole under epes left eye is there. His somewhat wrinkled skin is portrayed just as it is. The fact hes bursting his jacket, hes filling out his jacket anyway, is evident. The hand he has in front of him, i think, gilbert stuart, the american painter, said later about that hand if you prick that hand, blood will spurt out. Its so realistically painted with no effort to make it pretty. Here you see that epes is leaning on an antique column, and there probably werent many of those in the colonies in the 1760s. Copley gets much much of his training comes from the fact that his stepfather was an engraver and this compositional idea probably came from that. I love to look at this just a little bit. It must be his waistcoat showing through. Hes dressed for
Dedicated on march 17th, 1941, the National Gallery of art was a gift to the American People from financier andrew melon. Up next, we visit the museum to learn about early american portrait painting and the work of John Singleton copley. Hello. Im Dianne Stephens from the education department, the National Gallery of art. Were standing in a room full of portraits by John Singleton copley, americas most important colonial portrait painter. You can thi you want to ask them questions and receive answers. I dont think you can say it much better than that. Let me give you a little background. In the early part of the 18th century in america, early painters without much background and much training, we call them the limbners, made ambitious but tentative efforts to capture likenesses on canvas because portraiture was the only way of doing that those days and it was really the most important type of painting in the colonies. It was with John Singleton copley and john west that there was a gre