Mary Curzon (1585–1645), Countess of Dorset 1790

William Hamilton painted this portrait of Mary Curzon, Countess of Dorset, using oil on canvas. Though the execution is skillful, it is far from the most striking aspect. Instead, it is the sheer excess of fabric and jewelry that grabs the attention. The enormous ruff is perhaps the most demonstrative element, each pleat carefully crimped and starched, its form achieved through intensive, painstaking labor. The pearls, too, speak to considerable expense, and of course, the implicit labor of those who harvested them. There's a sharp contrast here between the countess's smooth face, and the complex materiality of her attire. This distinction reflects the vast social divide between those who enjoy a life of leisure, and those who labor to produce the material culture on which that life depends. Paying close attention to materials and making illuminates the social context that produced this portrait, encouraging us to question traditional distinctions between art, craft, and labor.