Mr and Mrs Atherton, a conversation piece completed c. 1743 by the British painter Arthur Devis (1712–1787). A student of the Flemish painter Peter Tillemans, Devis began his career as a landscape artist but had gravitated to portrait painting and established a studio in London by 1737. After a period of some success, he was unable to compete with fellow portraitists such as Joshua Reynolds and Johan Zoffany and focused on restoring paintings.Painting: Arthur Devis