The eldest daughter of the artist James Hayllar, Jessica and three of her sisters, Edith, Mary and Kate (see lot 3) honed their considerable artistic talents under the watchful eye of their father. The majority of her paintings derived their inspiration from the interiors of Castle Priory, where the family lived in Wallingford on the Thames. The house was sumptuously furnished, as demonstrated in the present work which reveals Hayllar’s exquisite eye for detail and strong use of colour.