Robert Goldsborough and Family 1787

Charles Willson Peale likely painted this portrait of Robert Goldsborough and his family with oil on canvas. Peale's technique involved carefully layering paint to build up the forms and textures of his subjects, evident in the detailed rendering of fabrics, skin tones, and facial features. The canvas serves as the foundation for the artist's meticulous work, its weave providing a subtle texture beneath the smooth, glossy surface of the oil paint. Consider too the social context of portraiture at the time. The Goldsborough family likely commissioned this work as a display of their status and wealth. The materials—the canvas, the pigments, the varnish—were all commodities, and the labor involved in their production and application speaks to a wider economic system. Peale himself was a skilled artisan, and his ability to capture the likeness and character of his subjects was a valuable commodity in a society increasingly aware of its own image. In the end, this painting is more than just a representation of a family; it's a product of its time, reflecting the values, materials, and social structures of early America.