The Collection
The American Wing Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing Asian Art The Cloisters The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Robert Lehman Collection The Libraries Medieval Art Musical Instruments Photographs Antonio Ratti Textile Center Modern and Contemporary Art

Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Elkanah Watson

John Singleton Copley, Lord Lyndhurst British

1782

Not on view

The sitter, an American businessman, may be dressed in the suit he acquired in Paris in 1779 while on a trip to deliver dispatches from the Continental Congress to the French foreign minister at Versailles. Watson then left for England, where he commissioned this portrait, which he appreciated for its appealing naturalism. The sailing vessel in the background flies an American flag, symbolizing George III’s formal recognition of the United States.

Elkanah Watson, John Singleton Copley, Lord Lyndhurst (British, Boston, Massachusetts 1772–1863 London), Oil on canvas — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Elkanah Watson

Artist: John Singleton Copley, Lord Lyndhurst (British, Boston, Massachusetts 1772–1863 London)

Date: 1782

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: Without frame: 58 11/16 × 47 5/8 in. (149 × 121 cm)
With frame: 69 11/16 × 59 1/16 × 2 13/16 in. (177 × 150 × 7.2 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Princeton University Art Museum, Gift of the Estate of Josephine Thomas Swann (y1964-181)

The Met

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Met

The Met's comprehensive collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century.