A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley

I enjoyed everything about this book. It is very well written. From his youth and adulthood in America to his success in Britain, we have a better understanding of Copley's life and talent. If you enjoy American art history, this book is for you.

Jane Kamensky offered a solid and readable take on a leading American painter in “A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley." Kamensky does a fine job of blending primary and secondary sources together. Generally an engaging writer, Kamensky tries to capture Copley in his times. While that can lead to some conjecturing on minor matters, for the most part, Kamensky stays grounded as she showcases some of his leading paintings. It’s a bit of a juggling act. Some of the readers with a background in the arts will want to overlook her focus on history; historically minded readers might dash ahead when Kamensky dwells on Copley’s paintings. I wish the publishers had included more plates and pictures though the ones included are clear. A good addition to the bookshelf but be ready to focus on a number of different subjects in this vivid biography. I’d offer 4.25 stars if possible which rounds down. Recommended.

Came in a timely was and was in great condition.

I loved this book. Jane Kamensky is a wonderful writer and historian as befits her position as a Professor of History at Harvard. Art lovers and American history buffs alike will enjoy this book. Copley was America's first master artist, rising from a humble home on Long Wharf in Boston to become a wealthy portraitist, who owned a large estate on Beacon Hill next to his friend and neighbor, the rich merchant, John Hancock. But Copley wanted more. Specifically, he yearned for recognition by England's artistic elite and in 1774 he left America for Europe never to return. Kamensky tells Copley's complicated story in rich detail and with verve. To complement her superb rendition of Copley's life I purchased a copy of the catalog from the 1995 exhibition "John Singleton Copley in America", which brings Copley's extraordinary portraits to life.

I didn't find the focus on John Singleton Copely to be as interesting as Staiti's The American Revolution through Painters' Eyes with its variety of painters, but Kamensky made Copely and his work more interesting than I expected. I wish the publisher hadn't grouped all the color reproductions into the center and had put them within the proper chapters, but that would certainly have added prohibitively to the cost of the book. The reproductions are well done, and within the chapters are b&w illustrations of other works or occasionally the same work so that the reader can see important aspects of Copely's growth as an artist, clothing and furnishings, and posture and setting without having to constantly flip over to the center section's color. I appreciate this history through art approach. Maybe some day the material will be available to do a similar book through a musician's ears!

If you like history, art and biography you'll love this book. It's rather long but the author intertwines historical events with the life of the artist, John Singleton Copley, and weaves an interesting picture of his life.

This biography of Copley, the great American painter, uses his life and work in pre-Revolutionary Boston and in post-Revolutionary London as the framework of the political and social history of the first American civil war. With deep research, critical appraisal, and warm style, Prof. Kamensky puts the history of art to work alongside the history of peoples on both sides of the Atlantic.

This book is written in a style that I can only describe as affected, gossipy, and long-winded. Ms. Kamensky begins a sentence in modern English only to make her point by finishing with a direct quote from an 18th century source. She uses this technique throughout the book - excessively in some parts, and those parts are best skimmed. The blending of two forms of English results in a presentation that is mannered and verbose, detracting from an otherwise fascinating period in American history and artistic development - not to mention one's reading pleasure. The prose and tempo improve somewhat after American independence, as if the author, too, were liberated.Other books have been written about Copley that might afford a deeper appreciation for his art, such as James Flexner's "John Singleton Copley."For an engaging account of this period in Boston history, Esther Forbes's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Paul Revere and the World He Lived In" is a classic. Better yet, go on a Boston By Foot tour.

A unique perspective on the period and the American Revolution in particular. The author has herself painted an insightful narrative of the artist and his time despite the substantial lack of the amount of first hand information and documentation that lends itself to say the characterisations of the Adams' who left behind such a wealth of correspondence. The story itself is informative and through the various works of the artist crafts a multidimensional portrait of his life.