The Shark and the Man

It's no secret that there was a lot of tension between Britain and the New World, known today as the United States of America, even for a little while after the US became independent from Britain on July 4th, 1776. John Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark, painted just two years after the Declaration of Independence, operates as a sort of allegorical warning to the British against toying with the waters of the New World.

When we first look at the painting, we find a young man, presumably British, who seems to have gone for a leisurely swim but encounters a shark who looks very dangerous, like the New World with all of it's unknown power. As our eyes continue to gather the details of the painting we also see the commoners on the boat he was traveling on are attempting to help get him back on the boat and out of harms way. When we notice, however, that some of the men aboard the boat are hesitant or maybe even uninterested in rescuing the young man, as if knowing that they shouldn't mess with the shark.

Once we notice the hesitation and reluctance, we also start to notice that there seems to be a second shark off to the front side of the ship. This leads us to look also at the rowing oar that appears to be in the water as if it was ripped out of ones hands by a shark or the rough water, which could also be a representation of America. The final detail that makes this case clear is that the painting was done two years following the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

As we think about what we have seen, we are left with a sense of warning and danger, as if the painting is indeed alerting the British to keep away from things that don't concern them anymore. In the final analysis, the artist has shown us that, much like the ocean and the sharks, the New World is unpredictable and shouldn't be messed with by those who are unprepared for the risks and dangers they are sure to encounter, like the young British man.