St. James’s Park 

Editor: Here we have an oil painting entitled “St. James’s Park” by George Morland. It’s a scene of what looks like an upper class family and some laborers taking a break in a park. What can you tell me about this work? Curator: Considering Morland’s biography and popular market at the time, this likely comments on the social strata through carefully considered use of materials. Note the artist's attention to the clothing – the finery of the officer versus the simple attire of the workers, even the inclusion of tankards. Editor: You mentioned the artist’s "attention to the clothing.” What does this tell us? Curator: Well, what are clothes *made* of? Think of the textures—the rough woolens versus perhaps linen and silk, reflecting the social divide. It brings to mind the systems of labor, trade routes for these materials and speaks to class identity that is materially reinforced through the acquisition and consumption of different textiles. How do you see the relationship between the park's 'natural' environment and the social interactions depicted? Editor: It seems a bit constructed – less wild and more curated to allow for leisure. Curator: Precisely. Parks, even then, were designed spaces. That placement of the human figure amidst nature reveals a relationship of control and consumption; the landscape becomes a backdrop for displaying social status. Note the family's presence, enjoying a break, compared to those doing some labor in the background. Even that small dog is symbolic. How might the production and sale of the painting itself contribute to our understanding? Editor: I never thought about the materials having so much to say! Curator: Exactly! Art isn’t just *of* something. Its very *being* relies on material conditions. Hopefully now you may approach the examination of additional works through that same critical lens.