The Revolutionary Art of John Singleton Copley

One of the clearest windows into the complexities of America’s revolutionary period can be found through its paintings. In her prize-winning book, A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley, Harvard University professor Jane Kamensky dives into the life and times of a man who was both colonial America’s premier painter and a British loyalist, whose art and letters reveal what she deems an “unheroic, sometimes anti-heroic” man. Join the unofficial “American historian laureate” for a conversation about how revolutionary upheaval shaped Copley’s life, world, and work, and how Copley's life in turn reshapes our understanding of the American Revolution.

This annual lecture recognizes a generous multiyear grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art. The Terra Foundation is dedicated to fostering the exploration, understanding, and enjoyment of the visual arts in the United States for national and international audiences.