'The front dining-room was separated by folding doors from the smaller back part, which we used as a playroom. Over the fireplace in the front room was an overmantel of wood, with shelves, also designed by Father, and filled with a collection of blue and white Nankin china, a type of ornamental pottery then in vogue.'
E H Shepard, son of Henry Dunkin Shepard, describing their home at 10 Kent Terrace, where the family lived from 1883-1889.
The seated woman is Jessie Shepard, Henry's wife, depicting her shortly before her premature death in 1890. The younger woman playing the piano could not be their eldest daughter Ethel, only 11 at the time, although she did practice the piano 'most diligently' at Kent Terrace. They also lived with two young housemaids, Martha and Lizzie, although the painting is more likely to depict a family friend or relative.
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