Thomas Marshall
John Singleton Copley Boston, Massachusetts 1755 Oil on canvas 76.68 Gift of Mrs. Franklin E. Campbell
The portraits of brothers Thomas and Christopher Marshall are two examples of how portraits of men conveyed different ideas of power. In the case of the Marshalls, power was conveyed through military service and economic status.
Thomas Marshall used his portrait to convey to viewers his success and status as a tailor and his awareness of the latest fashions. The use of drapery, an open book with a map, and his attire are typical portrait fashions used by wealthy English portrait sitters. Like these sitters, Marshall places himself in a higher economic status than many of his fellow Bostonians.