Good news! Watson was rescued in the nick of time. When he grew up he became a successful merchant in London and later even served as Lord Mayor of that city.
In fact, it was Brook Watson who asked Copley to paint this picture, and he was the one who told the artist all the details about his adventure with the shark.
Robert Dighton, Brook Watson, 1803, hand-colored etching on laid paper, Webster Canadian Collection, New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, N.B.
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