| Portrait of John Adams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | John Singleton Copley |
| Year | 1783 |
| Type | Oil on canvas,portrait painting |
| Dimensions | 238.1 cm × 147 cm (93.7 in × 58 in) |
| Location | Harvard Art Museums,Boston |
Portrait of John Adams is a 1783portrait painting by the Anglo-AmericanartistJohn Singleton Copley. It depicts the Americanlawyer,politician anddiplomatJohn Adams. It was painted inLondon while Adams was in the British capital. He has recently been one of the negotiators for thePeace of Paris that ended theirAmerican War of Independence.[1].He is shown at full-length, pointing towards amap and aglobe, both displaying the newly createdUnited States.[2]
Copley was aBoston-born artist who had moved to England and become a leading portraitist andhistory painter. He planned to display this painting at theRoyalty Academy atSomerset House that year but its subject matter was deemed too controversial due to the recent conflict. It was eventually displayed at theRoyal Academy Exhibition of 1796. Adams became the secondPresident of the United States in 1797. The painting remained in Copley's studio until his death in 1815 and was then shipped toMassachusetts. While his wifeAbigail praised it as "a very good likeness" her husband considered it "a piece of vanity". Today the painting is in the collection ofHarvard Art Museums, having been donated byWard Nicholas Boylston in 1828.[3]
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