National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: Baron Graham
  • Inscription
  • Provenance
  • Exhibition History
  • Bibliography

Overview

No overview.

Inscription

center left, on base of column: JSCopley. R.A. pinx

Marks and Labels

null

Provenance

Robert Graham [1744-1836]; bequeathed to Sir George Henry Smyth [1784-1852], 6th baronet, Berechurch Hall, Colchester, Essex;[1] bequeathed to his grandson and heir, Thomas George Graham White [d.1878], Wethersfield Manor and Berechurch Hall, Colchester, Essex; (his estate sale, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, 23 March 1878, no. 25); bought by "Graves".[2] Martha Babcock Greene Amory [Mrs. Charles Amory, 1812-1880], Boston, the artists's granddaughter;[3] her husband, Charles Amory [1808-1898], Boston;[4] their daughter, Susan Greene Amory Dexter [Mrs. Franklin Gordon Dexter, 1840-1924], Boston;[5] her son, Gordon Dexter [1864-1937], Boston;[6] his widow, Isabella Hunnewell Dexter [c. 1871-1968];[7] gift 1942 to NGA.

[1] Robert Graham's will, dated 12 May, 19 September and 25 October 1833 and 21 September 1836, was proved on 15 October 1836 (Public Record Office, London; copy in NGA curatorial files.

[2] Catalogue of the Valuable Collection of Pictures of Thomas George Graham White, Esq., Deceased, sale, Christie Manson & Woods, London, 23 March 1878, 6. "Graves is listed as the purchaser in the annotated copy of the catalogue at Christies, copy in NGA curatorial files, and by Algernon Graves, Art Sales From Early in the Eighteenth Century to Early in the Twentieth Century, 3 vols. (London, 1908-1921), 1:149. He may be the London dealer Henry Graves (1806-1892). Augustus Thorndike Perkins, A Sketch of the Life of and a List of Some of the Works of John Singleton Copley, (Boston, 1873), 129, listed the portrait among the paintings by Copley in England, but did not give the owner's name.

[3] Martha Babcock Amory, The Domestic and Artistic Life of John Singleton Copley, (Boston, 1882), 239, note (published after Mrs. Amory's death in 1880). For Mrs. Amory's dates see John William Linzee, The Linzee Family of Great Britain and the United States of America, 2 vols. (Boston, 1917), 2:766.

[4] Augustus Thorndike Perkins, Supplementary List of Paintings by John Singleton Copley, (Boston, after 1873), 18-19; for Charles Amory's dates see Linzee 1917, 2:766.

[5] Frank W. Bayley, A Sketch of the Life and a List of Some of the Works of John Singleton Copley, (Boston, 1910), 43; and The Life and Works of John Singleton Copley, (Boston, 1915), 122; for Mrs. Dexter's birthdate see Linzee 1917, 2:781-782; her death date is in "Proceedings of the New England Historic Genealogical Society" (meeting of 1 April 1925), The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 74 (July, 1925), 325.

[6] Theodore Bolton and Harry Lorin Binsse, "John Singleton Copley," The Antiquarian 15 (December 1930): 116; for Dexter's dates see Who Was Who in America, vol. 1, 1897-1942 (Chicago, 1966), 320.

[7] Mrs. Dexter died at the age of 97, in New York City (obituary, The New York Times, 16 December 1968, 47).

Exhibition History

1804
Royal Academy, London, 1804, no. 21.
1965
John Singleton Copley, 1738-1815, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Musuem of Fine Arts, Boston, 1965-1966, no. 102.
1968
From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artists, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1968, no. 22.
1995
John Singleton Copley in England, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1995-1996, no. 40, repro.

Bibliography

0
Perkins, Augustus Thorndike. Supplementary List of Paintings by John Singleton Copley. Boston, n.d. [after 1873]: 18-19.
1804
"Royal Academy Dinner". Morning Herald (30 April 1804): 3.
1804
Royal Academy, Exh. cat. London, 1804: no. 21.
1804
"Royal Academy. Exhibition, No. I". Daily Advertiser, Oracle, and True Briton. 5 May 1804: 3.
1804
"Royal Academy". Daily Advertiser, Oracle, and True Briton, 30 April 1804: 3.
1804
"Royal Academy". St. James Chronicle, or British Evening Post (12-15 May 1804): 4.
1804
"Royal Academy". The Morning Post. (28 April 1804): 3.
1804
"Royal Academy". Times (28 April 1804): 2.
1832
Cunningham, Allan. The Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters, Sculptors and Architects. vols. London, 1832: 5:184.
1873
Perkins, Augustus Thorndike. A Sketch of the Life and a List of Some of the Works of John Singleton Copley. Boston, 1873: 18-19, 129.
1882
Amory, Martha Babcock. The Domestic and Artistic Life of John Singleton Copley, R.A.. Boston, 1882: 239, 241-242, 244.
1910
Bayley, Frank W. A Sketch of the Life and a List of Some of the Works of John Singleton Copley. Boston, 1910: 43.
1915
Bayley, Frank W. The Life and Works of John Singleton Copley. Boston, 1915: 33, 122.
1930
Bolton, Theodore and Harry Lorin Binsse. "John Singleton Copley." The Antiquarian 15 (December 1930): 116.
1965
John Singleton Copley 1738-1815, Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1965-1966: no. 102.
1966
Prown, Jules David. John Singleton Copley. 2 vols. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1966: 2:373-374, 388, 421, fig. 653.
1968
Richardson, Edgar P. From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artists. Exh. cat. Baltimore Museum of Art, 1968: 41, no. 22.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 44, repro.
1975
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 394, fig. 570, color repro.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 137, repro.
1981
Williams 1981, 31, repro. 35.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 390, no. 555, color repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 152, repro.
1995
John Singleton Copley in England. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1995-1996: no. 40.
1995
Miles, Ellen G. American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 87-90, color repro. 89.

Related Works

Related Resources

  • Event Type
    Event Name
    March 1–June 1
    Mon, Tues, and Wed at 1:00
    March 5, 2012 at 2:00
    March 7, 2012 at 4:00
    East Building, Auditorium
    Name of docent
    image:
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum
    60 minutes
    Registration for this event begins on April 1, 2012 at noon.
    Register for this event
    Download the program notes (100k)
  • Self-Guided Tour
    Italian Collection
    image:
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum