Robbers, rogues and rascals mix with the virtuous and upstanding citizens in Samuel Colman’s 1824 portrayal of St James’ Fair on display at the City Museum and Art Gallery (K353 (c) Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives). Year 5, St Barnabas CEVC considered the comment that the artist wanted to make about the fair. They asked whether Samuel Colman thought the fair was a good or bad idea, whether they thought he would like it to close and what kind of a reputation was he presenting in his picture.
The students imagined what each of the characters in the picture may have been saying and added speech bubbles to show possible thoughts and attitudes. They then broke up the picture into four pieces and reproduced their own version of one of the quarters.
It is interesting to see what details these students noticed and chose to include in their versions.