Description
In this life of painter John Singleton Copley, Jane Kamensky untangles the web of principles and interests that shaped the age of America's revolution. Copley's talent earned him the patronage of Boston's leaders but he did not share their politics and painting portraits failed to satisfy his lofty artistic goals. A British subject who lamented America's provincialism, Copley looked longingly across the Atlantic. When resistance escalated into war, he was in London. A painter of America's revolution as Britain's American War, the magisterial canvases he created made him one of the towering figures of the British art scene. Kamensky brings Copley's world alive and explores the fraught relationships between liberty and slavery, family duty and personal ambition, legacy and posterity-tensions that characterised the era of the American Revolution and that beset us still.
About the Author
Jane Kamensky's many books include A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley, winner of the New-York Historical Society's American History book prize along with three others. For thirty years, she worked as a history professor and higher education leader, most recently as Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University and director of the Schlesinger Library at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. In 2024, Kamensky became the president of Monticello/the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
Reviews
"Jane Kamensky has not only crafted a stunning biography but also a truly singular account of The American Revolution. A Revolution in Color masterfully unravels any easy distinctions between patriots and loyalists." -- Amanda Foreman
"... I commend Kamensky's skill as a writer. Even if you had little interest in such a man as Copley, this is a deeply enjoyable book." -- David Aaronovitch, Book of the Week - The Times
"... lively and insightful book... Kamensky has produced an exemplary historical biography... A Revolution in Color is a thumping good read and makes a significant contribution to our appreciation of the often misunderstood and underappreciated Copley." -- Loyd Grossman - The Burlington Magazine
Awards
Winner of New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize 2017.
Book Information
ISBN 9780393240016
Author Jane Kamensky
Format Hardback
Page Count 544
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 980g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 173mm * 43mm
About the Author
Jane Kamensky's many books include A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley, winner of the New-York Historical Society's American History book prize along with three others. For thirty years, she worked as a history professor and higher education leader, most recently as Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University and director of the Schlesinger Library at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. In 2024, Kamensky became the president of Monticello/the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
Reviews
"Jane Kamensky has not only crafted a stunning biography but also a truly singular account of The American Revolution. A Revolution in Color masterfully unravels any easy distinctions between patriots and loyalists." -- Amanda Foreman
"... I commend Kamensky's skill as a writer. Even if you had little interest in such a man as Copley, this is a deeply enjoyable book." -- David Aaronovitch, Book of the Week - The Times
"... lively and insightful book... Kamensky has produced an exemplary historical biography... A Revolution in Color is a thumping good read and makes a significant contribution to our appreciation of the often misunderstood and underappreciated Copley." -- Loyd Grossman - The Burlington Magazine
Awards
Winner of New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize 2017.
Book Information
ISBN 9780393240016
Author Jane Kamensky
Format Hardback
Page Count 544
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 980g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 173mm * 43mm
