When John Singleton Copley was ten years old his widowed mother married the engraver Peter Pelham, who opened the boy's eyes to a world of art. John's stepfather taught him the technique of engraving, and when Pelham died in 1751, John, at thirteen, was able to make a living at this trade. He taught himself to paint and found that his portraits appealed to the practical businessmen of Boston. He was soon flooded with commissions.

By 1769 Copley was rich and famous. He was married to the daughter of a rich tea merchant and owned a big farm on Beacon Hill. One of his portraits had been praised by the great British painter, Reynolds, who urged the American artist to come to London. Copley debated. Should he exchange success in Boston for a less secure future in the mother country? But when the American colonies threatened to make war on England, merchants could no longer afford expensive portraits. In 1774 Copley decided to start a new life in London.

In England portraiture was considered the lowest form of art, but despite this prejudice Copley soon attracted the attention of the British public. Londoners were shocked by "Watson and the Shark" and awestruck by "The Death of the Earl of Chatham," and each year thousands flocked to see Copley's latest historical painting, in which they recognized likenesses of well-known people. Copley, the portrait painter, had triumphed.

Here is another absorbing story of a famous artist told by Elizabeth Ripley, whose fine biographies are well known to art lovers of all ages. Each page of text is faced with an appropriate reproduction of one of the painter's works.

From the dust jacket