[1] Ellen Sharples not only made copies of her husband's better known compositions but she additionally received requests for her own work.

[3] By the time Rolinda was 13 years old, she had joined the family business, which consisted of creating small scale pastel portraits of famous people, copying them and selling them for a profit.

[2] A signature device of the artist was to paint herself into the background of many of her works, often pictured with a wry smile, gazing directly into the eyes of the observer.

Rolinda's paintings were included in exhibitions in Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham, and Carlisle, and with the Royal Academy and the Society of British Artists in London.

[2] Letters, legal papers, bank and account books relating to the family of Rolinda Sharples are held at Bristol Archives (Ref.

This painting, which is on display in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, has become one of Rolinda's most recognisable images for fans of Jane Austen and the British Regency.

One reason for its popular use might be that only a few Georgian paintings exist today that depict assemblies in progress, with people dancing or moving around.