Explore the Missing area of this artwork, Mr and Mrs Andrews.
An area on Mrs Andrews' lap is "reserved", that is to say not painted with the blue of her dress. A brown brushstroke has suggested "a long-popular idea" that a cock pheasant was to be placed there, despite the painting probably (from the state of the corn) being set before the legal start of the pheasant season on September 1. Perhaps more likely is a work bag for embroidery, "tatting or knotting", as is often seen in portraits, a book, a fan, a lapdog, or even a baby yet to be born—their first child was a daughter born in 1751.
pheasant embroidery lapdog fan