The Sisters
Baxter left the family business of bookbinding to paint firstly miniatures then portraits but he is best known for his 'fancy pictures' such as this. When the painting was exhibited in 1865, contemporary reviewers praised Baxter for his usual 'witchery'. The two sisters were hailed as 'flowers of lustrous hue, blooming health and luscious sweetness; their unspotted complexions - soft, pearly, even waxy - are washed in dew, mingled with spring odours and honey.' Pictures of young women depicted in this fashion were eagerly collected by male, middle class patrons.
