John Singleton Copley
Mary Harris Hooper (Mrs. Joseph Hooper)
1770-1771
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Framed: 61 x 48 1/4 x 4 1/8 in. (154.9 x 122.6 x 10.5 cm) Sight: 48 3/4 x 38 7/8 in. (123.8 x 98.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Morton K. Blaustein, Barbara B. Hirschhorn, and Elizabeth B. Roswell, in Memory of Jacob and Hilda K. Blaustein
Object Number
1981.74
John Singleton Copley incorporated references to the natural world into his paintings to emphasize his subjects’ wealth and social status. The sparkling gilt trim on the vest of Joseph Hooper and the gold-embroidered belt of Mary Harris Hooper’s Turkish-inspired dress reflect both the opulence and fashion of the time. These portraits also indicate the importance of plants in colonial trade. Joseph was a manufacturer of cordage, the ropes and rigging crucial to shipping in 18th-century oceanic commerce. Cordage was made from fibers of hemp, a plant native to Asia and introduced by Spanish colonists to the Americas. Mary holds what seems to be a marigold, a flower that originated in Central and South America. Brought to Europe and used in offerings to the Virgin Mary, it became known as “Mary’s gold.”
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1929.
Detroit Institute of Arts, "A Loan Exhibition of American Colonial and Early Federal Arts," 4 Feb-2 Mar 1930. cat. p.26-28.
Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, "English and American Portraits of the Late XVIII and Early XIX Centuries from Baltimore Collections," 23 Oct-5 Dec 1948.
BMA, "Maryland Heritage," 20 Apr-20 Jun 1976. cat. p. 72, ill. no. 27.
Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, "Turkish Fashion in 18th Century America," 25 Feb-30 Jun 1998.
Detroit Institute of Arts, "A Loan Exhibition of American Colonial and Early Federal Arts," 4 Feb-2 Mar 1930. cat. p.26-28.
Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, "English and American Portraits of the Late XVIII and Early XIX Centuries from Baltimore Collections," 23 Oct-5 Dec 1948.
BMA, "Maryland Heritage," 20 Apr-20 Jun 1976. cat. p. 72, ill. no. 27.
Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, "Turkish Fashion in 18th Century America," 25 Feb-30 Jun 1998.
"Important Colonial Furniture and Decorations...Property of Israel Sack, Boston, Mass." Sold By His Order, American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, Inc., New York, 7-9 Nov 1929. no. 378, ill. p. 141.
Prown, Jules David, "John Singleton Copley." Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1966. vol. 1, p. 77, 219, ill. fig. 278.
BMA Calendar, Mar/Apr 1982.
Johnston, Sona K., "American Paintings 1750-1900 from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 1983. ill. p. 39.
Rebora, Carrie, Paul Staiti, erica E. Hirshler, Theodore E. Stebbins Jr., Carol Troyen. "John Singleton Copley in America." New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. reprod. fig. 209.
Carrie Rebora, Paul Staiti et al, "John Singleton Copley in America," New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995, fig. 209, p. 290; fig. 221, p. 310.
Isabel Breskin, "On the Periphery of a Greater World: John Singleton Copley's Turquerie Portraits", The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc: 2001, p.101, ill.
'Winterthur Portfolio,' A Journal of Material Culture, v. 36, nos. 2/3, Summer/Autumn 2001, Winterthur/The University of Chicago Press, 2001, fig. 3, p. 101.
Winterthur Portfolio, "A Journal of American Material Culture." University of Chicago Press, vol. 36, no. 2/3, Summer/Autumn 2001. repro. p. 101.
Inscribed: None
On View: American Wing Second Floor, Scott 07
