Richard Dana
Richard Dana (1700–1772) was a justice of the province of Massachusetts and a leading figure of the Boston bar. During the early stages of the Revolution, the city depended on his sage legal advice. He was a member of the committee that investigated the Boston Massacre in 1770, at about the same time he posed for Copley. As a bold enhancement of the powerful portrait, Copley selected a carved-and-gilded Rococo frame. The frame is personalized with the Dana family’s coat of arms: three stags separated by a chevron, with a fox at the crest and Cavendo tutus (“By caution secure”) as the motto.
Artwork Details
- Title: Richard Dana
- Artist: John Singleton Copley (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1738–1815 London)
- Date: ca. 1770
- Culture: American
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 40 x 50 in. (101.6 x 127 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest and Ronald S. Kane Bequest, in memory of Berry B. Tracy, 2014
- Object Number: 2014.440
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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Multiple artists/makers
1810
Multiple artists/makers
1810
John Singleton Copley
1785–86
John Singleton Copley
1782
John Singleton Copley
1785–86
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