The Palmer Family

In the early 1700s, family paintings often included members of the wider family. Instead, in this early 19th century painting, the nuclear family is the centre of attention. These 19th-century works often show families relaxed, apparently caught unaware by the viewer in an emotionally intimate moment.

Throughout the 19th century the middle classes expanded rapidly. There was a new emphasis on upward mobility, etiquette and conspicuous consumption. Commissioning a family portrait by a well-known artist became a way of signalling financial success.

James Leakey was known mostly for his delicate miniatures painted in oil on ivory. He also painted portraits, landscapes and small interior scenes with rustic figures. He spent most of his life in Exeter moving for a time to London, from 1821-1825. There, he became closely acquainted with David Wilkie and Sir Francis Baring.

Leakey exhibited several paintings at the Royal Academy: in 1821, The Marvellous Tale, in 1822 The Fortune Teller, in 1838 Portraits and Landscapes, and in 1846 The Distressed Wife.