John Singleton Copley was born on July 3, 1738, in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay. Copley was one of Colonial America’s most successful artists and went on to have a thriving career in Europe. Copley grew up in colonial Boston. Though he showed a talent for art at a young age, there were no art schools for him to further his training. He likely learned painting and engraving from his step father, and some of Copley’s first known portraits were exceptional for a boy of 14 years old. Before long, he was sought after by members of Boston’s high society and was invited to paint portraits in Canada on more than one occasion, but declined because he was too busy.