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Abstract:
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In 1765 , Boston artist John Singleton Copley sent Boy with a Squirrel—a portrait
of his half -brother Henry Pelham—across the Atlantic Ocean ; the painting ended up in
the hands of London -based artists Joshua Reynolds and Benjamin West . Because the
work did not depict a patron and it was intended for an artistic audience , Boy with a
Squirrel challenges the functionality of traditional portraiture in mid -eighteenth century
colonial America . In Boy with a Squirrel , Copley uses form , iconography , and
composition as a way to assert to his English counterparts his belonging to the London art
community , showcasing his knowledge and even mastery of British and continental
traditions . Copley communicates his membership in the London art public through his
use through the formal lexicon of his desired audience , effectively Anglicizing his forms .
While Anglicization plays a central role in the emergence of the public self in the mid -
eighteenth -century American colonies , Copley's adaptation of Anglicizing forms
challenges many of the standard conventions . Though the exchange of information
between Britain and the American colonies was slow and incomplete , Copley would have
had many different opportunities to learn about the British and continental traditions he
hoped to demonstrate . The circulation of books and prints , the display of private
collections , John Smibert's copies of masterworks , and the growing awareness of the
Grand Tour all would have informed Copley's awareness of these British tastes . |