This informal group portrait, or ‘conversation piece’, shows Dr John Clayton, founder of Salford Grammar School, with a fellow teacher and ten of their pupils at the end of their school term. Dr Clayton stands, as if on a stage set, at the entrance to his school. In his hand he holds a scroll, containing a Latin quotation from the classical poet Horace, which can be translated as ‘Now drink in these Words with a pure heart, boy’. While some of the boys recite verses especially written for the end of term, others are already engaged in sports and various high jinks.
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Arthur_Devis" class="extiw" title="w:en:Arthur Devis"><span title="painter from Great Britain (1712-1787)">Arthur Devis</span></a>
</bdi>
circa 1738 <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1738-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902</div>
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&amp;workid=3837&amp;searchid=12512">Tate Britain</a>