“Two Women Wearing Cosmetic Patches”: A Research Collaboration

December 20, 2023

Over a period of eighteen months in 2023–24, a remarkable painting, Two Women Wearing Cosmetic Patches, was the subject of an innovative research collaboration between the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA) in New Haven, CT, and Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park in Warwickshire, UK. In early 2024, the painting arrived on temporary loan at the YCBA, where researchers have spent several years studying the theory and practices of painting skin tones in the early modern period, as well as working to identify and name people of color in historic British portraits. The YCBA team was led by Jessica David, Head of Paintings Conservation; Jemma Field, Associate Director of Research; and Edward Town, Assistant Curator of Paintings and Sculpture, with the support of Sarah Mead Leonard, Postdoctoral Research Associate. At Compton Verney, the project was led by Oli McCall, Senior Curator, and Jane Simpkiss, Curator.