John Singleton Copley - Watson and the Shark [1778]

John Singleton Copley - Watson and the Shark [1778], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

For the notorious British merchant Brook Watson, Copley created a redemptive, retrospective narrative in crisp, legible detail for a grand venue, the Royal Academy of Arts, London. The picture tells a tale from Watson's youth: in 1749 the orphaned fourteen-year-old boy was crewing for a merchant marine in Havana Harbour, Cuba, when he was attacked by a shark while swimming. Watson was dragged under water three times and lost a leg before his fellow crewmen were able to save him by stabbing the shark with a boat hook. On public view in 1778, the painting promoted Copley, just three years after he left Boston. It also redeemed Watson, a controversial character reviled by some for dishonourable business practices and unethical political motives, by showing that he had been delivered from the jaws of death, a salvation accorded only those of high moral fibre and undeniable goodness.

[Oil on canvas, 182.1 x 229.7 cm]