Happy Families

This striking watercolour conversation piece shows an early Victorian family in a drawing room with a colourful carpet, roses trailing round the draped window. The parents are seated together, the father wearing a tartan waistcoat, the mother with an ever so cute tiny baby on her lap. The only son and heir is centre stage (one suspects he bossed his sisters and got away with it!) whilst the girls gather round, the youngest clutching her favourite doll.

Naively painted, the portrait is brimming with character. It is presented in a bird’s eye maple veneer frame with a gilt slip. There is some spotting in the unpainted areas but this does not detract from the overall charm of this rare survivor. Sadly, the family’s name and story has been lost to history.