While I was aware of the artist John Singleton Copley before I made note of this book, I might not have picked it up had I not already read Prof. Kamensky's biography of the rise and fall of the Bostonian financier Andrew Dexter, and knew about the author's knack for writing about "characters." The thing about Copley is that he accomplished so much in spite of being something of a perennial outsider, but could wind up his life feeling like a failure; at least on the financial front. For Kamensky, Copley represents something of a filter through which to view the American Revolution and the inception of American nationality, as Copley is a representative of that mentality that when push came to shove to make an active political choice, he opted to make no choice and went into exile. That exile radically changed Copley's career trajectory, but it was a mixed bag in terms of happiness. Still, if you told the man that he would be honored as an artist on both sides of the Atlantic, and his children would ascend into the social elites of London and Boston he might think that it was all worth it; though being a prickly and anxious personality he would probably find reason to quibble.

Apart from that, Kamensky also spends a great deal of time on the profession and business of art during this period; maybe a little too much. It's with these matters that she occasionally feels like she's getting lost in the weeds. ( )

compelling and her writing kept me going. Slogging in parts but because of density of information. She makes history interesting! ( )

The beginning of this book is deadly dull, probably because most of Copley's early life is conjecture (WAY too frequent use of "perhaps"). However, once the American Revolution begins, it gives one a different perspective of the war that is very interesting. When the war is over, it becomes ordinary again. I suspect that the difference is that Copley moved to London at the start of the war, and the correspondence between him and his wife and other relatives gave a lot more information than was available about Copley in his youth. I wouldn't dismiss the book out of hand, but maybe start in the middle. ;) ( )