Mrs Richard Cumberland and her Son Charles

Mrs. Richard Cumberland and Her Son Charles from 1770 depicts the wife of the dramatist Richard Cumberland in a maternal portrait typical of the conversation pieces popular in Georgian England. Romney's double portraits emphasize natural family relationships over formal posing. Romney's oil handling was distinguished by fluid, rapidly applied strokes and an instinctive sense of elegant silhouette, producing portraits of apparent effortlessness that concealed careful preparatory drawing.

The mother and child are linked through natural gesture and warm coloring, Romney's fluid brushwork creating an atmosphere of affectionate intimacy.