Elizabeth Greenleaf

John Singleton Copley

1753–54 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

While there is no doubt of Copley's innate talent, these portraits give new meaning to the term precocious. About the age of fifteen, with no formal training and very little art to study, Copley not only could paint but also knew that his patrons would be best served with accurate but richly embellished likenesses. The handsome siblings, offspring of John and Priscilla Brown Greenleaf of Boston, wear just the sort of elaborate, inventive costumes that became the artist's forte. Copley's source for John's (2002.611) exotic cap and the boy's pose was a print after Sir Godfrey Kneller's portrait of Lord Bury as a child.

Artist

John Singleton Copley

Date

1753–54

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Marc Holzer, 2002