- Title
- Portrait of Captain John Pigott
- Date Made
- circa 1752
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Canvas: 50 × 40 in. (127 × 101.6 cm)
Frame: 58 × 48 1/4 × 4 in. (147.32 × 122.56 × 10.16 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.90.210.1
- Collecting Area
- American Art
- Curatorial Notes
Here John Pigott is posed before a depiction of the harbor of Hamilton, the two sloops alluding to his position as customs collector. Inwood, the large home of his father-in-law, sits on the distant shore. The wealth and social position of the Pigotts are indicated by the existence of these two large portraits as well as by the attire in which the couple is depicted. John Pigott’s somber brown coat has rich accessories – ruffled lace shirt cuffs and a magnificent white satin waistcoat embroidered in gold and silver. Fannie Pigott wears pearls and an elegant silver satin gown accompanied by a gauzy pink-and-white plaid silk shawl. The delineation of such luxurious materials was Blackburn’s specialty and demonstrated his training with in the English rococo aesthetic.
- Selected Bibliography
- Edwards, Lydia. How to Read a Suit: A Guide to Changing Men's Fashion from the 17th to the 20th Century. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2020.
