American Art
American Art
John Singleton Copley
Mrs. John Scollay (Mercy Greenleaf)
Auction Closed
December 11, 04:21 PM GMT
Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
John Singleton Copley
1738 - 1815
Mrs. John Scollay (Mercy Greenleaf)
signed and dated J.S.Copley.Pinx.1763 (lower left)
oil on canvas
35 1/4 by 28 inches
(89.5 by 71.1 cm)
Painted in 1763.
The sitter
Lucy Cushing Whitwell (Mrs. William Parker (granddaughter of the above)
Prentiss Parker, 1915 (by descent)
Mrs. Calvin Josselyn Ellis, West Hanover, Massachusetts (by descent)
Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York, 1983
Private collection, New York, 1983
Estate of the above, 1987
Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts
Bonnie Crane, Boston, Massachusetts, 1992
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1992
Lucy Cushing Whitwell (Mrs. William Parker (granddaughter of the above)
Prentiss Parker, 1915 (by descent)
Mrs. Calvin Josselyn Ellis, West Hanover, Massachusetts (by descent)
Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York, 1983
Private collection, New York, 1983
Estate of the above, 1987
Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts
Bonnie Crane, Boston, Massachusetts, 1992
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1992
Frank W. Bayley, The Life and Works of John Singleton Copley Founded on the Work of Augustus Thorndike Pike, Boston, Massachusetts, 1915, p. 220
Barbara Neville Parker and Anne Bolling Wheeler, John Singleton Copley, American Portraits in Oil, Pastel and Miniature with Biographical Sketches, Boston, Massachusetts, 1938, p. 179
The Historical Survey, Works Progress Administration, American Portraits, 1620-1825, Founded in Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, 1939, no. 1922, p. 362
Jules David Prown, John Singleton Copley in America, 1738-1774, vol. 1, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1966, p. 228, fig. 106, illustrated
Barbara Neville Parker and Anne Bolling Wheeler, John Singleton Copley, American Portraits in Oil, Pastel and Miniature with Biographical Sketches, Boston, Massachusetts, 1938, p. 179
The Historical Survey, Works Progress Administration, American Portraits, 1620-1825, Founded in Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, 1939, no. 1922, p. 362
Jules David Prown, John Singleton Copley in America, 1738-1774, vol. 1, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1966, p. 228, fig. 106, illustrated
New York, Kennedy Galleries, Inc., Summits: Outstanding American Paintings, 1763-1985, November-December 1985, no. 1, pp. 4-5, illustrated
San Diego, California, Timken Museum of Art, John Singleton Copley and Margaret Kemble Gage: Turkish Fashion in 18th Century America, December 1998-April 1999, no. 2, p. 16, illustrated
New York, Babcock Galleries, Face to Face, May-June 2012
New York, Driscoll Babcock Galleries, This is How We Do It, September-October 2012
Katonah, New York, Katonah Museum of Art, Eye to I: 3,000 Years of Portraits, October 2013-February 2014, p. 43, illustrated
San Diego, California, Timken Museum of Art, John Singleton Copley and Margaret Kemble Gage: Turkish Fashion in 18th Century America, December 1998-April 1999, no. 2, p. 16, illustrated
New York, Babcock Galleries, Face to Face, May-June 2012
New York, Driscoll Babcock Galleries, This is How We Do It, September-October 2012
Katonah, New York, Katonah Museum of Art, Eye to I: 3,000 Years of Portraits, October 2013-February 2014, p. 43, illustrated
Mercy Greenleaf was the daughter of Reverend Daniel Greenleaf and the wife of John Scollay, both prominent figures in 17th century Boston. Mr. Scollay, a chairman of the Boston Selectman and member of the Sons of Liberty, commissioned this portrait of his wife as a pendant to another portrait of his own likeness (presently unlocated). A related pastel of Mrs. Scollay is in the collection of Harvard Art Museums and a pastel of Mr. Scollay is in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.