Midshipman Augustus Brine 1782

John Singleton Copley painted this oil on canvas portrait of Midshipman Augustus Brine, a pre-teen British naval officer. The image is striking because it tells us so much about the social norms of eighteenth-century England. Although the exact date of the painting is unknown, the boy’s naval uniform points to a particular moment in British imperial history. Britain depended on its navy for territorial expansion, so portraits of this kind served as recruitment tools. They encouraged young men to join the navy and served as propaganda. Copley, an American, moved to London in 1774, in part to escape the political turmoil of the American Revolution. Here he became one of England’s most celebrated portrait painters. As historians, we can investigate the social and political motivations behind images like this. We can access naval records, read historical accounts, and study how British society was structured to better understand the image's context.