John Singleton Copley, 1738–1815, American, active in Britain (from 1776)
Title:
Richard Heber
Date:
1782
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
65 1/4 x 51 3/16 inches (165.7 x 130 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.25.745
Gallery Label:
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a family of Irish immigrants, John Singleton Copley was largely self-taught. In the 1760s, he sent pictures to London for exhibition with the Society of Artists. His work was praised by Joshua Reynolds and Benjamin West, but they were also critical of his “hard line” and coloring. Despite unrivaled success as a portraitist in the colonies, Copley left for England in 1774 shortly before the American Revolution. In London he maintained a successful practice for the next forty years. The clergyman Reginald Heber commissioned this portrait of his son Richard (1774–1833), aged eight, when Copley was at the height of his powers. In a loose and vigorous composition, Heber is cast as a cricketer leaning casually on his bat and looking fearlessly toward the bowler. Nothing in the portrait suggests the sitter’s studious future, as a classical scholar and one of the leading book collectors of his generation. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
