Mary Ellen Best

inscribed Gen. N. Norcliffe/His Wife/His Mother (Anne Wilson)/His 2 sisters-, Dining Room, Langton Hall on reverse with additional indistinct inscriptions

Sotheby's London, March 22, 1986, lot 317, illustrated

Caroline Davidson, Women's Worlds, The Art and Life of Mary Ellen Best 1880-1891, New York, 1985, p. 28, no. 26, illustrated

 

Paper affixed to mat board with two paper hinges on top edge; repaired tear at left corner and two vertical repaired tears at center top edge.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In the present work, set in Langton Hall's dining room, the woman wearing the cap is  Best's grandmother, who owned Langton Hall (today the home of the Woodleigh School), and the man seated opposite is her son and heir Norcliffe Norcliffe, whose full length portrait in the uniform of the 18^th Hussars is hung against the wall (and now in the National Army Museum in London).  The two women at the end of the table are the spinster sisters Charlotte and Isabella, while the woman in the green dress is the wife of Norcliffe's cousin, Charles Dalton (Davidson, p. 28). Best not only details the elaborate settings and the food that crowds the table, but also charmingly records the various expressions of the family members.