Technique

Chelsea Shop, RISD

It is painted on a grey primed panel with the design outlined in brown paint and then filled in carefully. Much of the surface is bare of paint. Areas of fairly thin paint are smoothed down to convey reflections on the panes of glass, and on goods visible through the glass. Only in the figures in the doorway – the woman with her white apron and the little girl in a dark brown cloak with a touch of scarlet in her hat – are both the colour and the brushstrokes more rich and fluid.

Conservation History

Chelsea Shop, photograph, 1980

An old photograph shows some abrasion and paint loss at the edges, but otherwise it seems in good condition. Museum records state that it was restored in 1967.