Mrs. Sylvester Gardiner, Née Abigail Pickman, Formerly Mrs. William Eppes 

John Singleton Copley painted this oil on canvas portrait of Mrs. Sylvester Gardiner, née Abigail Pickman, formerly Mrs. William Eppes, in colonial America. Copley was the pre-eminent portrait painter of his era, and this work displays the conventions of upper-class portraiture. But it also hints at the social and political tensions of pre-revolutionary America. Copley's patrons were the merchant and professional elite tied to the British Empire. The trappings of wealth and status are understated here. Look at the simplicity of her dress and the background. Copley’s painting is competent, but it struggles to breathe life into its subject. As tensions grew between the colonies and the mother country, Copley found himself caught between his loyalist patrons and his own desire for artistic recognition. This painting, and others like it, offer a window into the complex social and political landscape of colonial America on the eve of revolution. You can research it further in the primary documents of the time, such as newspapers, letters and diaries.