John Greenleaf
1753–54
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
21 1/2 x 17 3/4 in. (54.6 x 45.1 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Stuart and Rhoda Holzer, 2002
Accession Number
2002.611
Tags
About this artwork
This John Greenleaf by John Singleton Copley dating to 1753–54 exemplifies the artistic traditions of American. Created in oil on canvas, the work demonstrates technical mastery of materials and processes characteristic of American artisans. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's The American Wing, this piece contributes to our understanding of historical artistic production. The work's 21 1/2 x 17 3/4 in. (54.6 x 45.1 cm) and material qualities reflect the aesthetic values and technical ca...
Art Historical Context
John Singleton Copley's *John Greenleaf* (1753–54) is a charming early portrait that captures the innocence of youth in colonial America. Depicting a young boy—likely with symbolic lambs evoking purity and pastoral life—this oil-on-canvas work measures a modest 21½ × 17¾ inches, suggesting it was an intimate commission for family display. Copley, then just a teenager honing his craft in Boston, demonstrates remarkable technical skill for his age, blending meticulous realism with a fresh American sensibility. As one of Copley's earliest dated paintings, it reflects the burgeoning colonial port...
About the Artist
John Singleton Copley · 1738–1815
John Singleton Copley (1738–1815) was the greatest American painter of the colonial era and one of the finest portraitists in the English-speaking world. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he was largely self-taught, learning from mezzotint reproductions of European paintings and from his stepfather Peter Pelham, an engraver. By his early twenties, Copley had established himself as Boston's leading po...