Provenance: The artists family

In a painted step-section frame of the artist's own design

A closely related painting, from the same year, entitled The Fireside, is in the collection of the Tate, (T02248).

This intimate scene shows Leon's father John cradling Garth in front of a fireplace. The Tate painting shows the more traditional mother cradling a child.  In both paintings, however, there is a sense of disquiet which is typical of Underwoods vision; the clothes and furnishings emphasise the modernity and mundanity of the scene.

Leon Underwood was a sculptor, painter, wood engraver and writer. He founded his own art school in London in 1921.