The Oliver and Ward Families

Francis Wheatley, 1747–1801

ca. 1778

Oil on canvas

Yale Center for British Art

A group of nine people, including adults and a child, are gathered in an outdoor setting with trees and a cloudy sky. A boat is present in the lower right corner. This is the family of a wealthy widow, Mrs. Ward (née Pye), seated second from the left. She is flanked by her elder daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Thomas Oliver. Oliver's cousin (and brother-in-law) Richard Oliver was a member of Parliament and a supporter of the radical John Wilkes, who pushed for the freedom of the press in Britain. Old Mrs. Ward's second son, William Ward, who sits on the ground, is holding his niece Frances, the Olivers' eldest child. Mrs. William Ward comes next, then the Reverend Charles Peter Layard (in black), a future prebendary of Worcester and Dean of Bristol. He is betrothed to Elizabeth Ward, whose