John Singleton Copley - American artist

John Singleton Copley was the son of an Irish migrant named Richard Copley and his wife Mary Singleton Copley. His parents owned and ran a tobacco shop in Boston. By 1748, Richard Copley had died, though the perfect date of this is also unfamiliar, but on May 22, 1748, Mary Copley married Peter Pelham, an engraver and teacher, and moved with her son to a quieter and more reputable part of Boston. John Singleton Copley was only about 13 years old in 1751 when his stepfather, Peter Pelham, died.

In 1774, Copley migrated to England to persist painting there. He moved on to Paris, Genoa and Rome before returning to London nine months later (1).

He began to specialize in historical narrative scenes which are sometimes dismissed by critics as lacking the vibrancy of his earlier portraits and joined the leading artistic institution, the Royal Academy of Art. Copley verified a genius, in both his American and British periods, for rendering face textures and capturing emotional immediacy. He died in London in 1815.

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