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Secondary sourcePaintingc. 1818

Portrait of Samuel Adams after Copley

Bass Otis, after John Singleton Copley · c. 1818

A later oil portrait of Samuel Adams painted by Bass Otis, copying John Singleton Copley's earlier portrait of him.

This portrait depicts Adams, copied from an earlier likeness after his death, shaping how later generations pictured him.

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Oil portrait of an older man with powdered gray hair, wearing a dark brown coat and white cravat, against a dark brown background. He looks toward the viewer with a slight closed-mouth expression.
Bass Otis, after John Singleton Copley, Samuel Adams, c. 1818.

About this source

What it is

This oil painting shows an older man identified as Samuel Adams, painted around 1818 by Bass Otis as a copy after the original portrait by John Singleton Copley. It was made after Adams's death, based on Copley's earlier likeness.

Why it matters

Because it was painted years after Adams died, it is a secondary image, not a direct record of how he looked in life. Comparing copies like this to Copley's original helps students understand how portraits of famous figures were reproduced and spread over time.

Look closer

  • What details in the painting—clothing, expression, background—shape how we imagine Adams?
  • Why might an artist copy an existing portrait instead of painting from life?
  • What might be different between this copy and Copley's original?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Samuel Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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