The Saithwaite Family
ca. 1785
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
38 3/4 x 50 in. (98.4 x 127 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2009
Accession Number
2009.357
Tags
Art Historical Context
Francis Wheatley's *The Saithwaite Family (ca. 1785) is a charming oil-on-canvas portrait capturing a well-dressed English family—men, women, and girls a cozy domestic interior. Measuring nearly 39 by 50 inches, this work exemplifies the Georgian-era tradition of group portraits, or "conversation pieces," where families posed together to convey harmony, status, and refinement. Wheatley, a prominent Royal Academy member known for his lively depictions of everyday British life, infused such scenes with warmth and narrative detail, making them feel intimate yet grand. Painted during the late 18t...
About the Artist
Francis Wheatley · 1747–1801
British painter and draftsman. Comment on works: Landscapes; Portraits