Wife of Man with Vial c. 1827

This is Erastus Salisbury Field’s portrait of an unknown woman, likely made sometime in the mid-19th century, using oil on canvas. Field’s approach here is quite straightforward, but look closer, and you can see his concern for the material qualities of paint. Notice how the dark background is built up from thin glazes, while the sitter’s face is more thickly rendered, with delicate strokes suggesting the fall of light. The sitter’s bonnet, meticulously painted, is a display of pure skill. But is the sitter's dress simply black, or subtly composed of many hues? Field was working in a period when American art was still finding its own voice, caught between the demands of commerce and the desire for aesthetic expression. He clearly sought to give his patrons their money’s worth. And yet, close examination reveals the artist's deep consideration of his materials. This is not just a transcription of life, but a subtle exploration of the world, as seen through the medium of paint.