University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Winter 1981 THE EDUCATION OF AN ARTIST: THE AMERICAN YEARS OF JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, 1738-1774 RICHARD KLAYMAN Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation KLAYMAN, RICHARD, "THE EDUCATION OF AN ARTIST: THE AMERICAN YEARS OF JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, 1738-1774" (1981). Doctoral Dissertations. 1309. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/1309 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. 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In all cases we have filmed the best available copy. University M icrdfilms International 300 N. ZEEB RD., ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106 8212788 Klayman, Richard THE EDUCATION OF AN ARTIST: THE AMERICAN YEARS OF JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, 1738-1774 University o f New Hampshire Ph.D. 1981 University Microfilms International300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check mark V . 1. Glossy photographs or pages 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print_____ 3. Photographs with dark background 1 ^ 4. Illustrations are poor copy______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy _____ 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page ______ 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages ______ 8. Print exceeds margin requirements_____ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine ______ 10. 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Other _____________________ University Microfilms International THE EDUCATION OF AN ARTIST: THE AMERICAN YEARS OF JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, 1738-1774 BY Richard Klayman B.A., Northeastern University, 1970 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in H is to ry December, 1981 This dissertation has been examined and approved. _ M 4j i \SL---------------------- Dissertation director, Robert Gilmore Associate Professor History ___________ Charles Jel^lsdn, Professor of History /Robert Mennel, Professor of History CT l U r t , ___________ Marc Schwarz, Associffre Professor o f H is to ry Donald Wilcox, Pr D ate TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.........................................................................................................................iv PAGE INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1 John Singleton Copley's American Years: The Historiographical Record .......................................6 CHAPTER 2 Educational Opportunities in His Early Years: Copley's Boyhood ..............................................26 CHAPTER 3 A Legacy of Limitations: Social Status and A rtistic Growth.........................................54 CHAPTER 4 Indigenous Traditions: Copley and Apparent Realism ................................................................ 64 CHAPTER 5 Boy with Squirrel: A Clue in the Copley-Pelham Relationship .........................................77 CHAPTER 6 Seeking a Larger Stage: Copley and History Painting .......................................................88 CHAPTER 7 "Miracles Have Not Ceased": Marriage and F am ily .............................................. 101 CHAPTER 8 An A r t i s t i c Em igre .........................................................113 SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ 124 APPENDIX.......................................................................... 129 ILLUSTRATIONS.......................................................................................................... 131 BIBLIOGRAPHY P rim ary S o u rc e s................................................................ 145 Secondary Sources: Books.........................................147 Secondary Sources: A rticles..................................157 i i i . ABSTRACT THE EDUCATION OF AN ARTIST: THE AMERICAN YEARS OF JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, 1738-1774 by RICHARD KLAYMAN University of New Hampshire, December, 1981 The American years of John Singleton Copley have been all but ignored by earlier biographers. Rather, Copley's paintings have received the bulk of historical and critical attention. This study examines the artist's life and work within the context of his Colonial education. Education remains central in understanding Copley's American career. In particular, Copley's education is explored in terms of his family life, boyhood years, and the educational environment of his household. Examination of Boston's public education system and its private schoolmasters suggests additional information contributing to his education. Copley's education was furthered through his relationship with his step-father, Peter Pelham. Pelham was both a schoolmaster and an artist. In the world of Colonial art, self-education was imperative. Copley's portraits reflect the artist's self-educative skills, as well as the influences of indigenous Colonial technique. In his portraits, Copley transcended a superficial realism through exploring the character and personality of his subjects. His Colonial education appears in these revealing portraits. iv. His quest for a greater art education distinguished Copley’s American years even after he achieved financial and artistic success. Copley's relationship with Henry Pelham, his half-brother and subject of the renowned Boy with Squirrel, can be better understood in the context of his educational aspirations. Copley's study of art history, architecture and philosophy reveal the artist's persevering desire for know ledge. Colonial America provided John Singleton Copley an educational legacy which served him well. INTRODUCTION At first glance, little in his genealogy suggests that John Singleton Copley was destined for artistic greatness. He was born on July 3, 1738, in Boston to Mary Singleton Copley and Richard Copley. The Copleys had emigrated from Ireland in about 1735.^ Settling on Long Wharf, the couple operated a small tobacco shop until Richard Copley's death. Richard Copley's final estate was meager, consisting of tablecloths, 2 an old desk, table, chairs, a skillet and a couple of candlesticks. Curiously included within this barebones inheritance were twelve bound books and six prints of pictures. The fact that the senior Copley possessed and bequeathed art prints suggests that he valued and even enjoyed pictures. Additionally portentous for young Copley was that Richard Copley's three-room living quarters, above the tobacco shop, were referred to as "the yellow chamber, the green chamber, and the 3 kitchen." Based on the barebones bequest including books, art prints, ^ and the color-designated rooms, one may speculate that Richard Copley imparted values and sensitivity about art to his son. Indeed, one can imagine the young lad gazing at the prints and absorbing the warmth