Portrait of Edward Bird, R.A.

The artist is seen working at his easel at his home in Portland Street, Kingsdown. His elegant dress is protected only by a cloth draped over his knee; his hair is fashionably tousled. The curtain across the bottom half of the window provided the top light preferred by artists but also allowed his friend Rippingille to emphasise his head against its dark cloth. Rippingille had recently settled in Bristol and probably worked with Bird, whose genre paintings he much admired.