Mrs. Daniel Hubbard c. 1764

This is Mrs. Daniel Hubbard, captured in oil on canvas by John Singleton Copley. The artist would have worked with ground pigments, mixed with linseed oil and turpentine, applying thin layers of paint to build up color and form. But the real material story here is the dress. The shimmering fabric speaks volumes about the global economy of the 18th century. Think about where the raw materials came from, like cotton from the Americas, woven into cloth, dyed, and then sewn into this elegant garment. The lace trim is another story, a delicate, time-consuming craft. The sheer amount of work embedded in this one piece of clothing is staggering. Every detail signifies status and wealth, and we're reminded of the labor, trade, and colonial structures that made such finery possible. Paying attention to materials and making helps us to understand the broader context of this portrait, and the networks of production and consumption that shaped Mrs. Hubbard’s world.