Description:
portrait; female; wife of Benjamin Blackstone, Jr., see AC 1945.14
Label Text:
John Singleton Copley’s life-sized portraits of the Blackstones characterize a certain kind of eighteenth-century portraiture, in which an opulent indoor setting signals the sitters’ wealth and status in society. To depict the Blackstones as prominent Maine citizens—the husband was descended from one of Boston’s founding families and his wife’s family developed Portland, Maine—Copley surrounded them with their luxurious possessions, including velvet chairs and curtains. As a self-taught painter who rose to become one of the foremost portrait artists of his day, Copley brought a keen eye to such details, evident here in the sumptuous velvet of Mr. Blackstone’s chair and the sheen of Mrs. Blackstone’s silk dress.
Lisa Pritchard, Class of 2008
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+1945.13 |
