Daniel Hubbard

Between 1753 and 1774, John Singleton Copley painted 350 portraits, primarily of Bostonians. He was largely self-taught, his only formal training from his stepfather Peter Pelham, an English artist who specialized in mezzotint engraving. Pelham encouraged Copley to produce his own mezzotints and to learn to draw by copying English prints. By the time Daniel Hubbard (1764) and Mrs. Daniel Hubbard (Mary Greene) (c. 1764; 1947.28) were produced, the artist had established a popular portrait style featuring individualized faces and luxurious fabrics. A decade later, Copley left colonial Massachusetts for England to further his career and simultaneously escape the strong political divides among family, friends, and patrons amid the impending Revolution.