FRANZ XAVER WINTERHALTER (1805-73)
The First of May 1851
Signed and dated 1851RCIN 406995
This picture, composed like an Adoration of the Magi, commemorates a date of threefold significance: the first birthday of Prince Arthur, the eighty-second birthday of his godfather, the Duke of Wellington, and the opening day of the Great Exhibition. Lily-of-the-valley is traditionally given on the first of May for good luck.