The Painting

There is a story that a large family oil painting of a father, mother and two children, believed to be ancestors, was cut down into four smaller portrait paintings and distributed amongst the family.

Marjorie Coleman (Ethel 's daughter) recalled seeing the portrait in its original size and condition and remembers being very upset when it was done as they 'cut-off' the beautiful hands of the mother when downsizing it.

She also said that although the children in the picture were dressed as girls with shoulder length hair they were, in fact, both boys.

Does anyone know who arranged to have this work done and why?

• A portrait of one of the children is now with Jan Harris.
  
  However without seeing the portrait of the other child we do not know if this is the youngest or eldest of the children.
  
  It has, however, been on quite a journey. Without realising at the time, Jan now remembers seeing the canvass as a child fixed to a frame and used as a decorative fireguard in the bedroom when staying with Auntie Ethel (Ethel's eldest daughter).
  
  Several years ago Jan asked Sandra, Ethel's daughter, if she still happened to have it; she thought not. However on clearing out the barn at their home in Wales she discovered it wrapped in an old sheet.



 

It was now been restored and reframed.


• The second portrait we know about is of the mother and has had a more charmed life. This is currently with Maureen Barnes (granddaughter of Mabel).

    

Jan took the picture of the child to an expert in old photographs and paintings and it was dated around the 1840/50s. Jan was also told that is was fairly common at the time for boys to be dressed in the style of girls.

This leads us to believe that the portrait could possibly be that of James SQUIRES, his wife Charlotte, and two of their four children, Edwin (born 1841) and Stephen (born 1846).

Their only daughter lived only a few weeks, and their youngest son wasn't born until 1863.

If you look at the portrait of the child there is a striking resemblance between him and a later photo of Edwin SQUIRES.