A Boy with a Flying Squirrel is a 1765 painting by the American-born painter
John Singleton Copley. It depicts Copley's half-brother
Henry Pelham with a pet
flying squirrel, a creature commonly found in colonial American
portraits as a symbol of the sitter's refinement. Painted while Copley was a
Boston-based portraitist aspiring to be recognized by his European contemporaries, the work was taken to London for a 1766 exhibition, where it was met with overall praise from artists like
Joshua Reynolds, who nonetheless criticized Copley's minuteness. Later historians and critics assessed the painting as a pivotal work in both Copley's career and the history of American art. It has previously been exhibited at the
National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and is now in the collection of the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Painting credit: John Singleton Copley