Joseph Sherburne

John Singleton Copley

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The subject of this astonishingly vital portrait was a wealthy Boston merchant. He chose to be painted wearing a loose but elegant banyan, or lounge robe—a popular gentleman’s fashion at the time—and a turban instead of a formal wig. Most striking about the portrait is its convincing sense of reality, which Copley achieved through various means. He meticulously painted every fold of cloth and bit of pattern in Sherburne’s damask gown as well as every fleshy wrinkle on his face and hands. Likewise, by lighting the picture strongly from the left, Copley created a tangibly solid figure.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art