1789

Fruits of Early Industry and Economy

George Morland

English, 1763 - 1804

The title of this fictional scene implies that the diligent oversight of the businessmen—presumably owners of the dockyard outside the window and the country estate over the mantel—has enabled the family to enjoy richly patterned carpets, wine, and glassware. The young Black servant holding a basket of fresh fruit is a reminder of how much British wealth depended on enslaved labor and the slave trade in this period. African servants were considered a mark of social status at the time, and the presence of such a figure in this picture draws attention to disparities of power, privilege, and income.

A year after painting this work, George Morland exhibited two canvases explicitly critical of the slave trade, some of the earliest known British paintings with an abolitionist theme.