When this painting was shown at the Royal Academy in London in 1811 it had to be roped off to protect it from crowds, who were intent on reading every detail.

A wealthy old bachelor has died and Bird's scene captures the moment when the will, which can be seen on the central table, has been read to all his relatives assembled in his richly-furnished library. The varied emotions from those who have not benefited from the will are contrasted with those who have. The old man's heir is the naval officer on the right, accompanied by his family. The double-portrait of him as a young midshipman with the deceased gentleman hangs above the heir to emphasise their early affection. The painting is a perfect example of Bird's multi-layered approach to genre painting, which was to influence the other members of the Bristol School, including Rippingille and Sharples. A contemporary description in the Repository of Arts, 1811, delved further into the narrative detail provided by Bird's painting and elaborated the close relationship between the old man and his heir:

A print, placed just below [the double portrait on the wall], from Pocock's battle of the memorable first of June, seems intended to inform the spectator, that the partiality of the old gentleman was strengthened by the boy's conduct in that action. Over the chimney piece are his arms, a wheat-sheaf and an anchor emblematic of his wealth and justice ? (Repository of Arts, 1811, p.340-1).

The reviewer also pointed out that the arms were not quartered pointing to the conclusion that the deceased was a bachelor. Bird's subject matter, a scene of inherent drama, was very popular in contemporary genre painting not only in Bristol but across the United Kingdom and Europe. In 1820, David Wilkie painted his version of 'the reading of the will' for the King of Bavaria*.

*David Wilkie, Reading the Will, 1820, oil on panel, Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen - Neue Pinakothek Munchen, object number WAF1194.

[From: 'Absolutely Bizarre! Strange Tales from the Bristol School of Artists (1800-1840)', catalogue of an exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Bordeaux, June 10 to October 17, 2021.]