Christabel Pankhurst

Watercolour portrait of Christabel Pankhurst. She wears a green smock, with a white blouse underneath; the neckline is ornamented with purple beads and she wears a large art-nouveau style necklace with pendant, possibly made by Ernestine Mills. The drawing is slightly unfinished and bears much resemblance to a formal photograph of Pankhurst. A later inscription on the reverse identifies the sitter and attributes the work to Sylvia Pankhurst, which is now thought entirely improbable; a different hand suggests one of the Misses Brackenbury but a comparison with their work also proves unhelpful.