Charles Carroll of Carrollton 1763

Here, Joshua Reynolds captures Charles Carroll of Carrollton, an American politician and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Reynolds, as a prominent portrait painter in 18th-century Britain, was deeply embedded in a society defined by its complex relationship with the American colonies. While Reynolds enjoyed the patronage of the British elite, Carroll was emerging as a figure of dissent against British rule in America. This portrait invites us to reflect on the tensions inherent in representing a man on the cusp of revolution, even as the painting adopts the aesthetic conventions of the British ruling class. What does it mean to capture Carroll, a man advocating for freedom from British rule, through the lens of a British artist? How does this image shape and reflect societal issues of power, representation, and identity?