Cadwallader Colden 1749 - 1752

John Wollaston painted Cadwallader Colden, using oil on canvas, sometime in the mid-1700s. Note how Wollaston's technique emphasizes Colden’s social standing. The careful layering of paint simulates the textures and fall of light on his expensive wig and well-tailored coat. These clothes weren't just pulled off a rack. They were commissioned, made to measure, and expensively fabricated. Consider the labor involved, from sheep shearing to weaving to tailoring. Wollaston, a well-traveled portraitist, understood the demand for images among the rising colonial elite. He was part of a transatlantic system of production and consumption. His portraits served as potent symbols of power, connecting individual identity with global trade and systems of labor. The painting acts as a kind of prototype for later photography and digital media, where the techniques of production are often obscured. Wollaston’s portrait of Colden prompts us to consider the complex relationships between materials, making, and social status.