The First Place

A Erwood (active 1860 - 1869)

Geffrye, Museum of the Home

1860

The painting shows a maid in tears in the middle of the room. She has been sweeping the hearth (or carpet) using a dustpan and brush. The title indicates the source of her unhappiness - she is overcome with the difficulties of her first position, away from her own home and family. It provides an accurate and detailed view of a mainstream middle-class home. It is also unusual because its subject is a servant's experience. The experience of servants has tended to be overlooked by historians and they are under-represented in the museum's galleries.

• Medium: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 31.5 x 27cm
• Art Fund Grant: £5155 ( Total: £13,750)
• ArtFunded in: 2008
• Vendor: Sotheby's

Provenance

Christopher Wood, London; Sir David Scott, 1979; Sotheby's, London.

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