This picture is called 'Good Service Work in a London Slum'. It was painted in 1913 by Ernest Stafford Carlos (1813-1917). It is a very large oil painting, and it used to hang in The Royal Academy, London.
It is a rather dark picture with lots of shadows, but, if you look carefully, there is detail in every corner...
It is a dark picture because the subject is 'dark' - there is no source of light, no warmth and not much colour. The clues to what is going on are in the little details. A thin woman (probably the mother) is sitting at an untidy table. Around her, the clothes hanging on a string nailed to the wall are threadbare and dirty. The children are ragged, and one little boy has fallen asleep, or fainted, probably from hunger and exhaustion. None of the children is playing, and one is hiding shyly behind the laundry on the line. The lamp isn't lit because there is no fuel for it. The dirty tablecloth is full of big holes. There is no food visible in the room. The woman has a strip of red cloth in her hand and there is a pot of glue on the table - she is making imitation flowers for sale. A basket of unsold flowers and fallen petals lies on the floor. This is the family's only source of income.
The Scouts have come to see if there is anything they can do to help. Can they run errands or mend anything? One of them has a manual in his hand. He is suggesting something to the woman. He might have some helpful advice to offer her about saving money, cooking healthy cheap food, hygiene, or how to contact a doctor who won't charge for advice. What do you think the Scout might be saying? What do you think of this picture? Is it sad, or is there hope for the future?
