John Singleton Copley, Catherine Greene
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1915.527 · The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access (CC0)View original →
John Singleton Copley

Catherine Greene

1769

Current Collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
125.7 × 101 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-109309

The Boston painter Copley's virtuosity at rendering luxurious textiles was precisely the kind of talent that appealed to his patrons. In 1769 the prosperous merchant John Greene commissioned a portrait of himself and this portrait of his wife, Catherine (1735–1785), after thirteen years of marriage. Shown at the age of 34, Mrs. Greene wears a fanciful costume inspired by ancient styles, strikes a pose derived from an English engraving, and pretends to lean against a rock that looks as insubstantial as a theatrical prop. This likeness places Mrs. Greene in an ideal realm far removed from munda…

Provenance

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1915.527

Registry history

  • 1769 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Registered on Collect24

The identity of the collector is never published. Purchase information, documents and the exact location of the artwork remain private.

Ownership not yet verified on Collect24

This artwork is documented in the Global Art Registry, but no Collect24 account is linked to it as the owner. Claiming keeps this record and its Collect24 Art ID — nothing is created a second time.

Do you own or represent this artwork? Claim this artwork →

Auction history

Public sale records matched to this work. Ownership is never disclosed.

Loading sale records…