Circle of Arthur Devis circa 1750 A Family in a Country House Interior

Circle of Arthur Devis, Circa 1750

This group portrait shows a husband and wife with their daughter and son and heir. Devis specialised in painting fashionable small-scale portrait groups or ‘conversation pieces’ set in domestic interiors or spacious parkland. Although such pictures were intended to portray family groups in a private setting, they can often appear quite formal. The family in this group portrait is somewhat more relaxed however, with the composition enlivened by the small dog stretching playfully at the side of the son; the kitten at the needlework basket; and the wife holding a charming watercolour of a flower.

A conversation piece is an informal group portrait popular in the eighteenth century, small in scale and showing people – often families, sometimes groups of friends – in domestic interior or garden settings. Sitters are shown interacting with each other or with pets, taking tea or playing games. Conversation pieces were very different from the more formal court or grand style portrait. They seem to have evolved early in the eighteenth century to meet the demand from the new middle classes, although also gained aristocratic and royal patrons. Probably introduced in Britain by Philip Mercier about 1725 and popularised by both Arthur Devis and William Hogarth.

Oil on canvas within a period frame

Dimensions refer to outer framed size.

Provenance: An English Estate, Sussex