In accordance with the terms of the will of the late Mrs. James S. Bell, the Institute has come into possession of four paintings, a fine XVIII century American side chair, an inlaid mahogany tea box of the pre-Revolutionary period, a pair of English XVIII century brass candlesticks and four pieces of English porcelain.Among the paintings is a portrait group by John Opie, illustrated on the cover. It has been on loan since 1926. "James and Penelope Woodward" is a characteristic picture by this precocious artist from Cornwall who burst upon London in his teens and took the capital by storm. As painting, it has all of Opie's charm and winsome grace, as well as some of his faults: a too facile and hasty brush, and that careless drawing which is usually the result of slack early training in the fundamentals. It prevented him, in fact, from reaching the very front rank of English portraitists.James Woodward is depicted as a serious lad of seven or eight, with wavy hair and pensive eyes. He wears a gay red jacket and a black sash is drawn tightly about his waist. In his left hand is a hoop and in his right the baton with which to roll it. Clinging to his left arm is his small sister Penelope, in a white frock and blue sash, her head lowered with the shy self-consciousness of childhood. The two children are posed against a woodland background.The brushwork in the painting is bold and loose, the shadows being rubbed in thinly and the lights rather heavily loaded. The technique indicates that the picture was painted in the artist's prime.John Opie was born in St. Agnes, not far from Truro, Cornwall, in 1761. His father was a master carpenter and wished his son to follow in his footsteps, but, encouraged by an uncle, the boy persisted in following his natural bent for drawing and painting, and finally won parental approval. His talent was discovered by Dr. Wolcot, later known and feared as the brilliant satirist, "Peter Pindar." Wolcot at that time lived in Truro and lent Opie some of his pictures to study and copy. Before he was sixteen the youth had gained a considerable reputation throughout the countryside for his portraits, which were as yet remarkable chiefly for the fact that an untutored country lad had done them.In 1780, Dr. Wolcot took him to London where Opie's obvious natural talent and youth won him immediate fame and no little emolument.But the late XVIII century society in London was no less fickle than ours today, and "the Cornish wonder," as he was called, found his vogue but transitory.The reason for this may have been his lack of ability or perhaps desire to flatter his female sitters. But more probably he was betrayed by too early success and lack of proper training. The curiosity of the London public subsided and his commissions dwindled to almost nothing.But the resourceful Cornish youth was not to be put aside so easily. Before he had come to London, an eccentric local celebrity, Lord Bateman, had put the boy to work painting genre pictures of old men and beggars, which he had executed with surprising vigor and truth. Now he set to work painting rustic pictures and domestic scenes and found a ready market for them. Later the great undertakings in the publishing world, Boydell's "Shakespeare," Bowyer's "English History" and other works, opened up a new field. These and his historical paintings: The Murder of James I of Scotland and The Death of Rizzio, became immensely popular.When Fuseli was appointed Keeper of the Royal Academy in 1806, Opie was elected to the vacant professorship of painting. His lectures at Somerset House prove that, despite his untutored beginnings, his literary style was good and his knowledge of the history and theory of art extensive.Restrictions of space forbid more than an enumeration of the other paintings in Mrs. Bell's bequest. They are: Pasture Scene by Emile Van Marcke, a popular and capable French painter of cattle; Dutch Interior by E. Pieters, a pleasant genre subject, and a landscape by Arthur Parton, American landscape painter who was a pupil of William T. Richardson in Philadelphia.The Queen Anne side chair, illustrated on page 4, is interesting not only for its fine quality but for its historical associations as well. It was once the property of Sir William Pepperrell, one of the most distinguished figures of our pre-Revolutionary history. The chair has remained in the Pepperrell family, of which Mrs. Bell was a descendant, until coming to the museum.William Pepperrell was born in Kittery Point, Maine, in 1696, when that town was still in the province of Massachusetts. Like his father before him, he became a successful merchant, but at 31 was elected one of His Majesty's council for the province, and was regularly re-elected for thirty-two years. Living on a frontier exposed to the raids of marauding Indians, much of his life was spent in camp, and when the expedition against Louisburg in the French and Indian War was undertaken, the governors of the New England states put him in command of the troops with the rank of general.For his services in this successful campaign, Pepperrell was made a baronet, the only New Englander to be thus honored.The chair which comes from his family is a New England version of the Queen Anne type of walnut side-chair, and was made about 1735-45. It is pure Queen Anne in form, with its graceful but restrained curves, its shaped seat and splat, its cabriole legs and so-called duck feet.It is curious to compare the elegance of this chair, its elasticity and nervous energy of line, with the less sophisticated interior architecture of its time. This, after all, is natural, for probably the craftsmen of the day were hard put to it to keep up with the demand in furniture without expending their energies in the less useful luxury of elaborate mantels and paneling.Other items in Mrs. Bell's bequest said also to have belonged to the Pepperrell family are the pair of Lowestoft cups and a cup and saucer with bold floral decoration. The Lowestoft has the characteristic wavy line and dot decoration around the rim. Delicate sprays veined in gold are painted on the body.The mahogany tea box is an excellent example of this article of furniture which played such an important part in the Colonial household. Tea was an expensive commodity in Colonial America and was kept under lock and key. It was natural, therefore, that the container should become the object of considerable solicitude on the part of the cabinet maker, and he frequently decorated it with all the resources of his art. This example is inlaid with shell designs in satinwood, and a beaded border frames the top and front.Two brass candlesticks, made in England in the XVIII century complete the bequest. They are severely simple in design, with a straight, hollow shaft to hold the chandle entire, so that the wick and the flame only show above the removable cap. A spring below feeds the candle upwards until it is completely consumed.Referenced Works of Art

1. James and Penelope Woodward, by John Opie, English, XVIII century. Bequest of Mrs. James S. Bell
2. Silver teapot made by John Burt of Boston, American, about 1725. Lent by James F. Bell, Esq.
3. Queen Anne side chair, American, 1735-1745. Bequest of Mrs. James S. Bell