John Singleton Copley

John Singleton Copley's paintings connect closely observed portraiture with the wider ambitions of history painting. His American likenesses give faces, fabrics, and valued objects a detailed presence within the sitter's social setting. After moving to Britain, he developed larger narratives in which gesture and group composition organize a dramatic event. Watson and the Shark turns a rescue into a carefully staged encounter between danger and collective action, while portraits continued to form an important part of his work.