John Singleton Copley
Watson and the Shark

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Watson and the Shark
Datec. 1780–1790
PlaceLondon, England
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions35 3/4 × 30 1/4 in. (90.8 × 76.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.56.167
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
106 Cameron Gallery
Exposé

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionAmerican artist John Singleton Copley exhibited Watson and the Shark in London’s Royal Academy in 1778. The incident it depicts had taken place in Havana harbor in 1749 when 14-year-old Brook Watson was severely injured in a shark attack. Watson went on to success in politics and business, serving as a Member of Parliament and as Lord Mayor of London. Among the notable features of the painting is the sympathetic portrayal of the West African crewmember attempting to extend a lifeline to Watson. This painting was not made by Copley, but is an eighteenth-century, so-called polygraphic copy that combined mechanical duplication with artist’s handwork.
Provenance[Childs Gallery, Boston]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, October 19, 1956; given to MFAH.

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