Richard Dana

John Singleton Copley

ca. 1770 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

Richard Dana (1700–1772) was a justice of the province of Massachusetts and a leading figure of the Boston bar. During the early stages of the Revolution, the city depended on his sage legal advice. He was a member of the committee that investigated the Boston Massacre in 1770, at about the same time he posed for Copley. As a bold enhancement of the powerful portrait, Copley selected a carved-and-gilded Rococo frame. The frame is personalized with the Dana family’s coat of arms: three stags separated by a chevron, with a fox at the crest and Cavendo tutus (“By caution secure”) as the motto.

Artist

John Singleton Copley

Date

ca. 1770

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest and Ronald S. Kane Bequest, in memory of Berry B. Tracy, 2014