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Secondary sourcePainting1897

Sam Adams print after Copley, 1897

John Singleton Copley · 1897

An 1897 black-and-white print reproducing John Singleton Copley's painted portrait of Samuel Adams, showing him holding a rolled document.

A later print of Copley's portrait, showing how Samuel Adams was pictured as a public man of documents.

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Black-and-white reproduction of a painted portrait of a man in a white wig and dark coat with white cravat and cuffs, one hand holding a rolled document and the other pointing at papers on a table. Signature 'Sam Adams' below.
John Singleton Copley, Sam Adams, print of painted portrait, 1897.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white print titled 'Sam Adams', reproducing a painted portrait by John Singleton Copley. It was printed in 1897. The image shows a man in a white wig, dark coat, white cravat and cuffs. One hand holds a rolled document, and the other points toward papers on a table. The signature 'Sam Adams' appears below the image.

Why it matters

Copley was one of the leading painters of colonial America, and his portraits shaped how Revolutionary leaders were seen. Prints like this one carried his work into later decades, when the painting itself was out of reach for most people. The rolled document and pointing gesture suggest Adams as a man of public papers and argument.

Look closer

  • What do the rolled document and the papers on the table suggest about Adams's role?
  • How might a black-and-white print change the way a painting's colours and textures are understood?
  • Why might an 1897 print choose to reproduce this particular portrait?

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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