Jeremiah Lee
ca. 1769
Medium
Watercolor on ivory
Dimensions
1 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (3.8 x 3.2 cm)
Classification
Painting, miniature
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1939
Accession Number
39.174
Tags
Art Historical Context
John Singleton Copley's *Jeremiah Lee* (ca. 1769) is a exquisite miniature portrait capturing the dignified likeness of the American merchant and patriot from Marblehead, Massachusetts Painted on the cusp of the Revolutionary War, it reflects the colonial elite's world, where such intimate likenesses served as cherished personal mementos, often worn as jewelry or kept in lockets. Executed in watercolor on ivory—a demanding medium prized for its luminous translucency and portability—this tiny work (just 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches) showcases Copley's mastery of realism and fine detail. As a leading f...
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...