Boston was an unstable place in the 1770s, and although he was politically neutral himself, Copley's marriage made him part of the Loyalist Clarke family. In December of 1773 the Sons of Liberty dumped tea into Boston harbor - tea that had been imported by Copley's father-in-law. With his commissions falling off and his personal risks rising, John Singleton Copley sailed for Europe for his Grand Tour in June of 1774. A year later he reunited with his family in London, and never returned to America.
Established in London, Copley continued to paint portraits, which demonstrate the changes in style -- such as lighter colors and more evident brushwork -- he developed after his tour of Europe. And at last Copley was able to paint the history paintings that American colonists had no use for. He was one of the first to use contemporary events as the subject matter for these large scale paintings. These paintings brought him fame, but not the monetary rewards he had hoped for. After 1790 his health, his productivity, and his reputation began to decline. His final years were marred by financial hardships. On August 11, 1815 John Singleton Copley suffered a stroke during dinner, and died peacefully four weeks later.
Selected Images:
Mary and Elizabeth Royall, ca. 1758 The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Julia Knight Fox Fund http://www.mfa.org/artemis/fullrecord.as...
Henry Pelham (Boy with a Squirrel), 1765 The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Gift of the artist's great granddaughter http://www.mfa.org/artemis/fullrecord.as...
Mrs. Ezekiel Goldthwait (Elizabeth Lewis) The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Bequest of John T. Bowen in memory of Eliza M. Bowen http://www.mfa.org/artemis/fullrecord.as...
The Death of Major Peirson, 1783 Tate Gallery, Purchased 1864 http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/AWork?id=...
Samuel Barrington, ca. 1787-1795 National Portrait Gallery (London), Primary Collection http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portra...
References:
LETTERS AND PAPERS OF JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY AND HENRY PELHAM 1739-1776. The Massachusetts Historical Society, 1914.
Prown, Jules David. JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1966.
Rebora, Carrie and Paul Staiti. JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY IN AMERICA. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995.
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