Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1976.2.4
Gallery Label:
This is the family of a wealthy widow, Mrs. Ward (née Pye), seated second from the left. She is flanked by her elder daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Richard Oliver. Oliver's cousin (and brother-in-law) Thomas Oliver was a member of Parliament and a supporter of the radical John Wilkes, who pushed for the freedom of the press in Britain. Old Mrs. Ward's second son, William Ward, who sits on the ground, is holding his niece Frances, the Olivers' eldest child. Mrs. William Ward comes next, then the Reverend Charles Peter Layard (in black), a future prebendary of Worcester and Dean of Bristol. He is betrothed to Elizabeth Ward, whose eldest brother (standing in for their dead father) holds her hand. The youngest son, James Ward, who was an officer in the Royal Navy and eventually drowned in Chesapeake Bay, is shown sitting in the dinghy on the far right. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2005
