Capturing the American Revolution Through the Brush Strokes of John Singleton Copley

In this lecture, Jane Kamensky, a professor of history at Harvard and the Pforzheimer Foundation Director of Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library, looks at the era of the American Revolution through the eyes of the British-American painter John Singleton Copley.

Revealed in extensive private writings as well as in vivid paintings ranging from the intimate to the gigantic, Copley's insight into his times was both penetrating and surprising. When the political imaginations of many of his Boston sitters--including Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere--demanded heedless certainty, Copley answered with indirection and ambivalence. Copley's American Revolution was Britain's American War: a war defined by chance more than choice, by kin more than ideology, and by loss more than triumph. In this talk, Kamensky casts the art of early America and the founding of the United States itself in a fresh, unsparing light.

For program information and to register, visit the event website. This event is free and open to the public.

Visit Our Site