American Artist. Copley was born on July 3, 1738, in Bostonto Irish immigrant parents Mary Singleton and Richard Copley. He began to paint in about 1753. He made use of the rococo device called portrait d’apparat, portraying the subject with objects associated with his daily life, that gave his work a distinction not usually found in 18th-century American painting. His style was straightforward and realistic. Among his many works were portraits of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and John Adams. In 1769 John Copley married Susanna Clarke, the daughter of a Boston tea merchant. They would have six children. Her family’s politics, however, and his desire to expand his art led to their departure from America. The Copleys traveled to Europe in 1774 and settled in London. There in 1778 Copley painted his first major work, Watson and the Shark, depicting a real-life event that occurred in Havana harbor. The painting portrays Brook Watson, a friend of the painter, who, as a boy, lost his leg to a shark while his friends struggled to rescue him in the water. Copley’s powerful paintings brought him fame, but much to his disappointment, not great monetary rewards. After 1790 his health, productivity, and reputation began to decline. On August 11, 1815, John Singleton Copley suffered a stroke during dinner and died four weeks later on September 9, 1815. (bio by: Iola)