Edward Kellogg 1831 - 1832

Editor: This is Samuel Lovett Waldo’s portrait of Edward Kellogg, dating from around 1831 or 1832. Painted with oils, it has a formal and restrained mood, with its muted palette. What stands out to you when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, my thoughts turn to the materials themselves and the social context surrounding their acquisition and use. Oil paint, while becoming increasingly accessible, still represented a certain level of economic privilege in the early 19th century. Who had access to quality pigments, and who dictated the subjects worthy of being immortalized in such a medium? Editor: That's interesting! I was focused on the subject's expression. Curator: But even that expression is mediated through material circumstances! Consider the labor involved in producing Kellogg's clothing, the textiles, the tailoring. Waldo meticulously renders these details, signifying Kellogg's social standing and access to crafted goods. How does the artist's rendering contribute to this representation? Editor: So, you're saying the portrait isn't just about *him* but about the whole system of making and consuming things? Curator: Precisely. And beyond mere depiction, how is the painting itself an object of consumption? Who commissioned it, and for what purpose? Consider how this image might have functioned within Kellogg’s social sphere – a display of wealth, status, and connections materialized in pigment and canvas. We should also not gloss over the process of extraction for all these paints: how was each pigment obtained and were any human lives impacted or altered in the harvesting or making of the final material? Editor: I never really thought about art like that. It really puts the whole thing in a different light! I'll never look at portraits the same way again. Curator: Exactly! Hopefully it will guide your perspective toward every piece of art from now on.