John Singleton Copley

These imposing likenesses of the Honorable Moses Gill, Esq. (1734-1800) and his second wife, Rebecca Boylston Gill (1728-1798), are among four Copley portraits in the Museum’s collection. Along with his portrait of Gill’s first wife, Sarah Prince Gill, and his portrait of Theodore Atkinson, they indicate the breadth of the artist’s American career. Copley’s early forthrightness and clarity of obser-vation are apparent in the portrait of then-thirty-year-old Moses Gill, a merchant and landowner whose prosperity is emblematized by the silk waistcoat that accentuates his girth. Gill served as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1794 to 1799 and then as acting governor until his death in 1800. Portrayed around the time of their marriage, his wife is depicted carrying long-stemmed lilies, her coiffure fashionably bound with a striped silk turban.

Moses Gill was 30 years old and a successful hardware merchant when he commissioned formal portraits of himself and his first wife, Sarah, seen at right. Their marriage added land to Gill’s assets, elevating his standing in Boston’s social hierarchy. Copley posed Gill in a fictional interior populated with luxurious draperies, a mahogany baluster, and paneled woodwork. Copley often “invented” clothing for his sitters, as is the case with this elegant costume with a fitted silk waistcoat that responds to his girth and acknowledges his prosperity.

After Sarah’s death, Moses Gill remarried (his second wife, Rebecca, is at his left) and pursued a successful political career. A supporter of colonial independence, he joined the Massachusetts legislature, was appointed lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, and in 1799 briefly served as acting governor.

Wow, look at that waistcoat! This painting’s powerful visual presence comes from Copley’s ability to capture light reflecting off that satin garment and his masterful manipulation of warm gray values to convey the texture of that expensive material. The painting’s power also comes from its geometry: the S curve running down the center of the composition was thought to be an ideal line in art theory of Copley’s time. Then there’s the remarkable repetition and mirroring of shapes throughout the painting, such as the triangular shape that appears in the door panel and below the elbow on the left side, and the curve of the outer coat which echoes the curve of the waistcoat.

Trent Burleson, painter and RISD professor (Illustration)