John Singleton CopleyAmerican, 1738–1815Margaret Gibbs Appleton (Mrs. Nathaniel Appleton) (1699-1771)
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Margaret Gibbs Appleton (Mrs. Nathaniel Appleton) (1699-1771)” now? Collection: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Cambridge, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- H14
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
In the life of John Singleton Copley
The whole life1753–1774 · Workplace
Boston
1760s
A needy tobacconist’s son among Boston’s elite
The income Copley earned by painting in the 1760s was extraordinary for his town and time and raised the son of a needy tobacconist into the local aristocracy. The foremost personages of New England came to his painting-room as sitters.
30 September 1762
Asks Liotard for Swiss pastel crayons
Copley writes to the Swiss painter Jean-Étienne Liotard asking for a set of the best Swiss crayons for drawing portraits, in the hope that America will one day become a school of the fine arts. The pastels arrive and are put to use; Copley was a pioneer American pastellist.
