John Singleton Copley (1738-1815), United States/England, Mrs Humphrey Devereux,  1771, oil paint on canvas. Gift of the Greenwood family, 1965

> Find out more about John Singleton Copley's portrait of Mrs Humphrey Devereux and its conservation.

Texture and character

American artist John Singleton Copley was already well established when he sent this portrait to London in 1771. Encouraged by excellent reviews, he emigrated to England, where he enjoyed fame, wealth, and Royal Academy membership.

Copley, a self-taught artist, is regarded as the finest portrait painter of the American colonial period. With his meticulous eye for detail he captured not only textures of fabric and skin, but also the essential character of his subjects.

Mrs Humphrey Devereux was the mother of London artist and dealer John Greenwood, who commissioned the portrait. It came to New Zealand in 1834 with Greenwood’s grandson, Dr John Danforth Greenwood, whose descendants gifted it to the National Art Gallery.