In his “Lectures on Art” delivered at the University of Oxford in 1870, John Ruskin put forth his theory that art is connected to all aspects of life, emphasizing his belief that “the art of any country is the exponent of its social and political virtues.” It is in Lecture 3, “The Relation of Art to Morals” that Ruskin touches upon art and industry, taking the latter term in its broadest sense to mean production, the making of things. He concludes with a pithy formulation: “life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality.” This essay will challenge Ruskin’s reading of the relationship of art and industry through a discussion of still-life paintings by George Lance. If rote, habit, and calculation were the basis of mechanized industrial production in the nineteenth century, they could also provide a model for the artist to understand the craft or techne of technology. New modes of making could transform the art of oil painting, and the artist could create modes of visualization distinctly suited to industrial society.