Artwork
Elizabeth Green (Mrs. Ebenezer Storer II)
Elizabeth Green (Mrs. Ebenezer Storer II) is a pastel drawing by the Romanticist artist John Singleton Copley. It dates from 1767 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created circa 1767, this portrait presents Elizabeth Green Storer seated in an upholstered chair.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1767, this portrait presents Elizabeth Green Storer seated in an upholstered chair. Rendered in pastel on paper that has been adhered to canvas, the work exemplifies the refined portraiture favored by the colonial elite. The composition follows the conventions of formal 18th‑century American portraiture, emphasizing the sitter’s status through attire and pose.
Subject & Meaning
Elizabeth Green Storer, a member of a prosperous New England family, is depicted wearing an elaborate dress and a coordinating hat. Her serene expression and composed posture convey a sense of dignity and domestic virtue, qualities prized among the colonial gentry. The portrait thus functions both as a personal likeness and a visual affirmation of family wealth and social standing.
Technique & Style
John Singleton Copley employed pastel pigments applied to paper, later mounted on canvas, allowing for delicate tonal transitions. The palette is restrained, dominated by soft, muted hues that lend the figure a gentle luminosity. Fine brush‑like strokes render the fabric’s texture and the sitter’s features with a subtle realism characteristic of Copley’s early American work.
History & Provenance
Copley, an American-born artist active in Boston before moving to London in 1774, produced this work during his colonial period. The portrait remained within the Storer family for several generations before entering the collection of the American Wing, where it now serves as an example of mid‑century colonial portraiture and the artist’s developmental phase.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an American-born British painter active in both the Thirteen Colonies and England.
