Portrait of a Girl in a Garden 

George Morland painted this "Portrait of a Girl in a Garden" using oil on canvas, a traditional combination during the late 18th century. Note the subject's pristine white dress. Fabric such as this was a commodity, made possible by transatlantic trade and colonial exploitation. The labor of enslaved people picking cotton, and of textile workers in England, made such garments accessible, at least to those with means. Even the paint itself depended on global extraction of raw materials and a complex system of manufacture. Morland's brushwork gives us clues, too. Notice the confident strokes capturing the dress’s texture, achieved with relatively quick application, and the subtle gradations of color to create depth. These techniques reflect not only his skill, but also the economic incentives of a professional artist who needed to produce work efficiently. So, next time you look at a painting, remember that it's not just about the image – it's about the whole world of making that went into it.