The Cloak-Room, Clifton Assembly Rooms

The Clifton Assembly Rooms had opened in 1811 and Sharples chose a society gathering there for her first multi-figure painting. Ladies and gentlemen are arriving at a ball and a maid in the foreground is helping with one lady's overshoes. These would have protected her satin shoes from the dirt of the streets. Although Rolinda Sharples' technique and composition is unsophisticated, the painting has a charm and accuracy of observation which has made it one of her most popular works.