The Misses Mary and Hannah Murray 

John Trumbull painted this portrait of the Misses Mary and Hannah Murray using oil on canvas. The artist applied thin layers of paint in this formal portrait of two sisters from a wealthy New York merchant family. The layered oil paint mimics the delicate fabric of their dresses, their fine necklaces, and even the smooth surface of the writing tablets they hold. Trumbull was one of many artists who found lucrative work in the late 18th and early 19th centuries painting portraits of the wealthy elite, using their skills to reflect a family’s status through material possessions, such as clothing, books, and writing implements. The artist’s hand helped solidify social status in a young republic that prized both refinement and the appearance of industriousness. Looking closely at the materiality of portraiture opens up questions about the social and economic life of its time, and how the skilled work of painting has influenced our vision of history.