Mrs. James Russell (Katherine Graves) 1770

John Singleton Copley made this portrait of Katherine Graves, Mrs. James Russell, rendered in oil paint, a favored medium of the era for its ability to capture textures. Look at the way Copley handled the paint to mimic the sheen of Katherine’s satin dress. Oil paint allowed Copley to blend colors seamlessly, creating the illusion of light playing across fabric. Think about the labor involved, not just in Copley’s precise brushwork, but in the textile production represented here. The satin, the lace trim of her cap and shawl: all testify to the global trade networks that made such finery accessible to the wealthy. Even the book she holds is an object of skilled making, bound with leather and gold leaf. Copley, like many artists of his time, relied on these displays of material wealth to communicate status. But the painting also reveals the hand of the artist, painstakingly applying layer upon layer to conjure this world of objects. So next time you’re faced with a painting, consider how the material and the making shape our understanding, challenging the division between art and craft.