Cornet Sir George Cooke 1768

This is "Cornet Sir George Cooke," painted by Joseph Wright of Derby, presumably in the late 18th century. It's oil on canvas, of course, the standard for a prestige portrait at this time. But consider the making of that very canvas, and all the work implied by Cooke’s own garment. The linen, the dye for that glorious blue, the gold thread – all came into being through extensive labor, much of it in the form of colonial extraction. Just consider the processing of flax into linen, a cottage industry in this period. Wright of Derby was highly attuned to the social and industrial conditions around him. While the painting surface is traditional, it’s worth keeping in mind that everything we see here, down to the last brushstroke, is tied to production. This portrait is not just a picture of a man, but a record of a world in the making.