John Singleton Copley (1738 – 1815)

was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. After becoming well-established as a portrait painter of the wealthy in colonial New England, he moved to London in 1774, never returning to America. In London he met considerable success as a portraitist for the next two decades, and also painted a number of large history paintings, which were innovative in their readiness to depict modern subjects and modern dress. His later years were less successful, and he died heavily in debt. According to art historian Paul Staiti, Copley was the greatest and most influential painter in colonial America, producing about 350 works of art. The displayed Painting is a crop from: The Return of Neptune, ca. 1754.