Watson and the Shark

Copley, born in Boston, had moved to London in 1774 and wanted to prove himself in the grand manner of history painting. He composed the rescue as a tight pyramid of bodies, with every gesture pointing toward the boy in the water. Look at the range of expressions in the boat, from fear to determination, and at the Black sailor at the top who holds the rope, one of the earliest dignified portrayals of a Black man in an American painting. Copley had never seen a shark, and its anatomy, with lips and a strange forward-facing eye, is not quite right, but the sense of menace is complete. The fortress of Morro Castle and the ships in the background anchor the scene in a real place.

Watson himself commissioned the painting; he had become a successful London merchant and would later be Lord Mayor. It was shown at the Royal Academy in 1778 and made Copley famous. He painted several versions; this first one was left by Watson to Christ's Hospital school in London and was bought by the National Gallery in 1963. A memorable detail is the boy's streaming blond hair and outstretched hand, which echo images of the drowning and the saved in religious painting, turning a colonial anecdote into a story of rescue and grace.

Did You Know? Brook Watson, the boy in the water, survived to become Lord Mayor of London and commissioned the painting himself.