087 'GOOD NIGHT'
by Arthur John Elsley (1861-1952)

This very proud and very happy young mother is surrounded by love. The picture exudes the innermost maternal feelings and aspirations, captured by an artist with rare sensitivity. The eager expression on each face concentrates on this tiny newborn baby, making this such a complete picture. It would have been out of place here to have included the father in this painting because it is all about maternal love. Even the little *dog is intrigued and plays an important role in focusing the composition upwards. "What IS this strange little bundle about?. It stirs. It breathes, and it grunts? .....Please, please let me say goodnight too".

Mother's dress is made of rich material but is of simple design, giving us the impression that she is, of her time, "modern". The red tint of her carefully tied-back, long chestnut hair is echoed in all her three children.

The pink silk quilt and and the pink bow which adorns the *Yorkshire Terrier, show us that the baby must be a little girl. She is about to be gently laid into the carved oak cradle, which might also have rocked to sleep her sister, brother, perhaps too, her mother and grandmother.

Interestingly, this old cradle seems to be in the one of the rooms downstairs, especially for its daytime naps. This conveys that Mother wants to be able to hear everything and be near at all times. There will probably be a nanny in the background somewhere, but this mother is caring and very close.

In the background, the spray of Honesty (symbol of honesty) and the bowl of roses (symbol of love) join this embracing circle, centering on the baby, completed by the family, the *Yorkshire Terrier and the toys. Indeed the circle theme is subtly reinforced by the extraordinary number of *circles and spheres which can be identified in the painting - from the mirror on the wall to the ball and carpet motifs on the floor.

Arthur J. Elsley lived and worked in London for most of his life. His genre paintings epitomised Victorian and Edwardian life and are similar to those of Fred Morgan. Many of his works include the same children, painted over a period of their differing ages. Most of his themes include animals too in the ever present happy scenes of play. Many of his pictures were reproduced and used in advertisements at the time. They are as popular today as ever.