The Edwards Family on a Terrace / Charles Philips
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2000/2.3
- Title
- The Edwards Family on a Terrace
- Artist
- Charles Philips
- Artist Nationality
- British
- Artist Life Dates
- 1708 - 1747
- Medium and Support
- oil on canvas
- Object Creation Date
- 1732
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- United Kingdom (nation)
- England (country)
- Greater London (metropolitan area)
- London (inhabited place)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- United Kingdom (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- England (country)
- Creation Place 4
- Greater London (metropolitan area)
- Creation Place 5
- London (inhabited place)
- Dimensions
- 71.1 cm x 91.4 cm (28 in. x 36 in.)
- Century
- 18th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Painting
- Primary Object Type
- portrait
- Physical Description
- Six figures appear in a formal garden landscape. On the right a pair of men in powdered wigs stand behind two women, one seated in a wheelchair, before an elaborate portico. A pair of boys, also sporting wigs, stand on the left, partly screened by a fountain. One of the boys holds a shell and the other carries a parrot. A small pool extends through the middle ground behind the figures and draws attention to the setting and the distant obelisk visible above the trees.
- Subject Matter
- This group portrait, which exemplifies the genre of painting known as the "conversation piece," depicts members of the family of Walter Edwards of London in their garden. Walter stands in the center of the group behind his wife Mary, daughter of Richard Freeman of Batsford, Gloucestershire. William, Walter's brother, stands to the right behind an older woman in a wheeled chair, possibly their mother. Walter's sons stand on the left apart from the adults and hold a shell and parrot, objects that evoke the preoccupations of children. Great care was taken in this painting to capture the likenesses of the sitters and their relationship, as well as to convey their status and refinement through the meticulous rendition of their property and dress.
- Primary Keywords
- conversation pieces
- families
- fathers
- fountains
- gardens
- london (inhabited place)
- mothers
- obelisks
- oil paintings
- parrots
- shell (animal material)
- sons
- Secondary Keywords
- animals and creatures
- birds
- buildings and the land
- combination inorganic/organic animal material
- combination inorganic/organic material
- descriptors
- england (country)
- europe (continent)
- geographic and political locations
- greater london (metropolitan area)
- group portraits
- groups of people
- hydraulic structures
- hydraulic structures by function
- kinship groups
- materials
- materials by composition
- monumental pillars
- monuments
- monuments by form
- objects we use
- offspring
- open spaces
- open spaces and site elements
- open spaces by form
- paintings
- paintings by material or technique
- parents
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by family relationship
- portraits
- shell and shell material
- single built works
- single built works by function
- single built works by specific type
- social groups
- united kingdom (nation)
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- visual works by subject type
- water distribution structures
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 2834 x 2269
- File Size
- 113 KB
- Record
- 2000/2.3
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2000-sl-2.3/2000_2.3.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
Cite this Item
View the Help Guide for more information.
- Full citation
-
"The Edwards Family on a Terrace; Charles Philips." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2000-sl-2.3/2000_2.3.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 19, 2024.
