The Music Room

This painting of the Music Room at Plas Newydd was begun by Rex Whistler in 1938 but never finished (presumably because of the outbreak of war the following year - he would spend the next four years in the Welsh Guards). The present Marquess of Anglesey (who was then 16) is painting at the easel; Lady Caroline Paget, Whistler's great love, is standing in the doorway (she is the most obviously unfinished part of the painting); the 6th Marquess (who would die in 1947) is sitting in the armchair; and the Marchioness is playing the piano with her daughters Lady Mary and Lady Katharine standing behind her. This painting is taken from the beautifully produced and wonderfully written 2010 National Trust booklet about Plas Newydd which is available here for £5.39 and worth every penny - both the text and the photographs are superb.