The Trial is based on a moment in 1796, when Edward Jenner first tested the smallpox vaccine on James Phipps, the son of his gardener. Jenner believed he had discovered something that could save lives. But what’s often left out of the story is how it looked to the people involved—especially the mother of the child. He didn’t test it on his own son. He tested it on someone else’s.

This painting reimagines that moment in America, where the vaccine would have been even more unfamiliar. A mother pulls her child back as the doctor reaches forward. Behind them, a crowd protests. Some hold signs. Others just watch. There’s fear, doubt, and noise. Nobody is sure what’s right.

It asks a question: What happens when something new arrives before people are ready to understand it? And what happens when parental authority and medical power collide?