A Life Dedicated to the Poetic Image: William N. Copley William Nelson Copley, known universally as CPLY, was a figure who defied easy categorization—a painter, writer, gallerist, collector, publisher, and art entrepreneur whose life embodied a restless pursuit of artistic expression and a uniquely independent vision. Born in New York City in 1919 and formally adopted in 1921 by Ira C. Copley, owner of a substantial newspaper empire, his early life was marked by privilege but ultimately steered toward a path far removed from the world of journalism. Though raised within a structured environm…