Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 02.djvu/405

 COPLEY

COPLEY

ency of his father's engine and boiler manu- factory in Hartford, Conn. He became an efficient designer of engines and steamers, and in 1836 was designing and constructing engineer of the West Point foundry, N.Y. He built the first iron hull ever made in the United States and his skill won him the appointment of con- structing engineer, U.S.N., in 1839. The .steam- ers comprising the " Mosquito fleet,'' used in the Mexican war, were built by him. Subsequently he resigned his position in the navj" and became superintending engineer of the Allaire works, N.Y. city. While there he designed steamers for the Pacific lines and for Long Island Sound, and also the Harriet Lane, used in the U.S. reve- nue service. He rendered practical service to the navy during the civil war, 1861-65, and sub- sequently became consulting and superintending engineer to the U.S. lighthouse board and to the Norwich & New York transportation com- pany. He died in Brooklyn, N.Y., Feb. 5, 1895. COPLEY, John Singleton, painter, was born in Boston. Mass., July 3, 1737; son of Richard and Mary (Singleton) Cojiley; and grandson of John and Jane (Bruffe) Singleton. His parents emi- grated from County Limerick, Ireland, and settled in Boston, Mass., in 1736, and his father died in the West Indies in 1737. His mother was married May 22, 1747, to Peter Pelham of Boston, and one son, Henry, was born of this

union. The half brothers were both devoted to art, Henry Pelham be- ing both a portrait painter and an en- graver in Boston in 1774. He prepared a map of Boston and one of County Clare, Ireland, and contributed to the Royal academy min- iature portraits and sketches. John Singleton Copley was without teacher or models and was obliged to manufacture his own colors. He made the statement that he never saw a good picture till after he left America. His persevering industry alone made him a great painter, his genius first showing itself on the walls of his room and on the white margins of his school books. His stepfather died in 1751 and the two sons devoted themselves to the care of their aged mother, residing in Lindel Row, near the upper end of King street. In 1755 he painted from life a miniature of Col. George Washington, and in 1760 he seat " The Boy and the Tame Squirrel "

anonymously to Benjamin West, then in Eng- land, with the request that it be placed in the exhibition rooms. Upon receiving the picture West exclaimed, "It is worthy of Titian him- self ! " Through West's influence it was exhib- ited at Somerset House. The American pine of which the stretcher was made disclosed its origin, and the identity of the artist was soon discovered. Upon the nomination of West he was elected a fellow of the Society of artists of Great Britain, and he was invited to make England his home. He was married Nov. 16, 1769, to Susannah Farnum, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Winslow) Clarke. Her father was agent in Bos- ton for the East India company, to whom the tea thrown overboard in Boston harbor by the patriots before the Revolution, was consigned. Her mother was a lineal descendant from Mary Chilton of the Jlayfloicer, 1620, who married John Winslow, brother of the first governor of the colony. Her familiar lineanaents were copied in Copley's works, notably in "The Nativity"; "The Family Pictvire"; "Venus and Cupid," and the " Death of Major Pierson." They lived on Beacon Hill in a solitary house, picturesquely located in the midst of eleven acres of land, and in his studio in this house his best portraits were painted. He visited New York in 1771 and in June, 1774, he embarked for England further to pursue his art. He reached London July 11, 1774 ; was shown the art treasures of that city by Ben- jamin West and received a visit from Sir Joshua Reynolds and from Mr. Strange, the engraver. He painted the portraits of Lord and Lady North, visited Italy, and on his return painted portraits of the king and queen. On May 27, 1775, Mrs. Copley with her family embarked at Marblehead for England, where she arrived several weeks before the return of her husband from Italy, she reaching Dover June 24, 1775. London hence- forth became their home and Mr. Copley was made a member of the Royal academy. He had his painting, " The Death of the Earl of Chat- ham," engraved and he sent copies to President Washington, to John Adams and to Harvard col- lege. In acknowledgment Washington wrote, " The work is. rendered more estimable in my eye when I remember that America gave birth to the celebrated artist who produced it " ; John Adams wrote, " I shall preserve (it) with great care, both as a token of your friendship and as a fin- ished monument of ' The Fine Arts ' from one of the greatest masters, and as an indubitable proof of American genius " ; and from Harvard he received a vote of thanks. Harvard univer- sity possesses Copley's portraits of John Adams, Thomas Hubbard, Madam and Nicholas W. Boylston, President Holyoke and Thomas HoUis; the engraving from " Chatham," and a series of