Henry Laurens
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Object type: Painting
Date: 1782
Artist: John Singleton Copley, 3 Jul 1738 - 9 Sep 1815
Sitter: Henry Laurens, 6 Mar 1724 - 8 Dec 1792
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 137.5 × 103 cm (54 1/8 × 40 9/16")
Frame: 155.9 × 121.9 × 9.2 cm (61 3/8 × 48 × 3 5/8")
Credit line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the National Gallery of Art; gift of the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, 1942
Topics: Business and Finance
Legislators
Merchants
Businessperson
Natural resources commerce
Quill
Home Furnishings
Carpet
Printed Material
Design
Weapons
Swords
Military and Intelligence
Public officers
Military
Interior with Exterior View
Congressmen
Government
Interior decoration
Portraits
Drafting & Writing Implements
Furnishings
Continental congressman
Planter
Agriculturists
Men
Politics
Pens
Officer
Exhibition Label: Born Charles Town (now Charleston), South Carolina
This portrait depicts South Carolina statesman Henry Laurens in his capacity as president of the Continental Congress (1777–78). Laurens was also a partner in the largest American slave trading company, Austin and Laurens. During the Revolutionary War (1775–83), he objected to the British promise to liberate enslaved people who would fight with them. In 1780, the British captured Laurens while he was traveling to Holland to negotiate aid for the revolutionary government. They charged him with high treason and imprisoned him in the Tower of London for fifteen months.
Following Laurens’s release, in April 1782, John Singleton Copley painted this portrait in London. Seven months later, Laurens traveled to Paris, where he signed the treaty ending the Revolutionary War. Protecting his economic interests, Laurens made a last-minute change to the Treaty of Paris to prevent the British Army from “carrying away” American property—including formerly enslaved people.
Nacido en Charles Town (hoy Charleston), Carolina del Sur
Aquí aparece Henry Laurens, estadista de Carolina del Sur, en su carácter de presidente del Congreso Continental (1777–78). Laurens era también socio en la compañía más grande de tráfico de esclavos en Estados Unidos: Austin and Laurens. Durante la Guerra de Independencia (1775–83) se opuso a la promesa de los británicos de liberar a los esclavos que lucharan de su lado. En 1780 fue capturado por los británicos cuando viajó a Holanda a negociar apoyo para el gobierno revolucionario. Lo acusaron de traición a la patria y lo encerraron en la Torre de Londres durante 15 meses.
Tras la liberación de Laurens en abril de 1782, John Singleton Copley pintó este retrato en Londres. Siete meses después Laurens viajó a París, donde firmó el tratado que puso fin a la Guerra de Independencia. Para proteger sus intereses económicos, hizo un cambio de última hora al Tratado de París a fin de evitar que el ejército británico “se llevara” posesiones americanas, incluidas las personas antes esclavizadas.
Provenance: Richard Bagwell [1840-1918], Marlfield House, Clonmel, Ireland; his widow Harriet Bagwell; (Lewis and Simmons, London); sold 29 March 1920 to Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York; sold as part of Clarke collection through (M. Knoedler and Co., New York) January 29, 1936 to The A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift to National Gallery of Art 1942; transferred 1965 to NPG.
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