Lieutenant Joshua Winslow
John Singleton COPLEY
(American, 1738-1815)
Lieutenant Joshua Winslow
Date1755
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsoverall: 50 7/8 × 40 3/8 in. (129.2 × 102.6 cm)
frame: 56 × 45 × 3 in. (142.2 × 114.3 × 7.6 cm)
ClassificationPAINTINGS
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Mrs. Sterling Morton for the Preston Morton Collection
Object number1960.54
Subject(s)
- portraits
- men
Collection
- American
- 18th century American
Sub-Collection(s)
- Colonial
- American
- British
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextPainted when the aspiring Copley was just seventeen years old, this portrait already hints at his prodigious abilities, particularly in the description of fabrics, as in the Lieutenant’s embroidered vest. Copley’s step father (his Irish mother remarried after his father’s passing when he was just a boy) was an accomplished mezzotint engraver, which meant that Copley benefited from rigorous art instruction from an early age. In just a few short years, he would establish himself as the dominant portrait-painter in Boston, accruing wealth enough to marry into the elite of society, providing him with easy access to well-heeled clients. At the encouragement of ex-pat artist Benjamin West, who was President of the Royal Academy in England, Copley finally made the trip to Europe, settling in London in 1775, never to return to Boston. Though celebrated for his innovative realism as a portraitist, Copley also produced large-scale history paintings that rivalled those of Benjamin West in their ambition. He is considered the most talented American painter of the colonial period.
In the Boston period of his career, Copley’s sitters consisted of Tory and Whig alike. Winslow was a loyalist and served as an officer in the British forces, only fleeing the colonies right before the American Revolution. The pose he strikes was a convention among American portraitists, distantly related to 17th-century English prototypes.
In the Boston period of his career, Copley’s sitters consisted of Tory and Whig alike. Winslow was a loyalist and served as an officer in the British forces, only fleeing the colonies right before the American Revolution. The pose he strikes was a convention among American portraitists, distantly related to 17th-century English prototypes.
