[3] Rivers studied at the Slade School of Art (1877–83) in London under Professor Alphonse Legros.

[1] On 25 Sept 1901, Richard Godfrey Rivers married Selina Jane (née Bell) at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane, the ceremony being conducted by his brother Arthur.

The painting of Rivers and his wife Selina taking tea beside the Brisbane Central Technical College under the shade of Australia's first Jacaranda tree planted in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens by the garden's first curator Walter Hill.

[7] The woman in the painting is often described as his future wife Miss Selina Bell, despite the couple marrying in 1901, although it is possible that an earlier version of the work preceded their marriage.

On alternating years, the trust would purchase an overseas art work or provide a prize for local artists.