Study for ‘The Marriage of Miss Whichcote of Harpswell with the Dean of York’-III c. 1749

Curator: This is Joseph Highmore’s Study for ‘The Marriage of Miss Whichcote of Harpswell with the Dean of York’-III, currently held in the Tate Collections. Editor: It’s quite spare, almost ghostly in its simplicity. The pencil strokes seem so tentative. Curator: It’s a study, a preparation for a larger, more finished work. Consider it in the context of 18th-century social mores, where marriage was a transaction and portraits served to commemorate status. Editor: The material process really strips that away, doesn't it? The raw pencil on paper, the visible construction lines—it reveals the labor, the planning involved in constructing this image of societal expectation. Curator: Indeed. It’s a glimpse behind the curtain, revealing the social and artistic labor. Editor: Seeing the work in progress really changes my perception. Curator: For me, it reinforces the structures inherent in the final piece, while also pointing to their construction. Editor: The starkness definitely invites scrutiny of the underlying materials and labor.