Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue

John Singleton Copley (1738-1815), Painter

Painter, b. Boston, Mass., whence he dispatched works for exhibition in London at the Society of Artists, London, 1766-72; in 1774 he came to Europe, spending a year in Italy before settling in London 1775; exhibited RA 1776-1812; ARA 1776 and RA 1779; d. London.

‘Very thin, pale, a little pock-marked, prominent eyebrows, small eyes, which, after fatigue, seemed a day’s march in his head’ (George Carter, 1774).

This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.