Daniel Crommelin Verplanck

John Singleton Copley

1771 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Verplanck (1762–1834), the scion of a Dutch American dynasty, is shown here at the age of nine, posed at the family’s Hudson Valley homestead, Mount Gulian. He was the eldest son of Judith Crommelin and Samuel Verplanck (39.173). In the painting Copley presented the popular theme of a youth with a trained, gold-leashed pet squirrel, symbolizing patience and diligence in their wealthy owners. The sitter went on to graduate from Columbia College (now University) and become a member of the Whig party in the US Congress. The remarkable perception and clarity of the portrait reveals the hallmarks that made Copley the most successful painter of the upper classes in colonial America.

Artist

John Singleton Copley

Date

1771

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Bayard Verplanck, 1949