William Nelson Copley: A Surrealist Pioneer Shaping the Landscape of American Art William Nelson Copley, often referred to as CPLY, stands as a singular figure in 20th-century art—a painter, writer, gallerist, collector, patron, and entrepreneur whose unconventional approach foreshadowed the burgeoning movement of Pop Art. Born in New York City in 1919, his life trajectory was profoundly shaped by an adoptive father who recognized Copley’s potential and propelled him toward academic excellence through scholarships to Phillips Andover and Yale University. The subsequent relocation to Coronado…