Peace Concluded, 1856, Sir John Everett Millais, British, 1829 - 1896, 46 x 36 in. (116.84 x 91.44 cm) (canvas)58 x 48 3/4 x 2 in. (147.32 x 123.83 x 5.08 cm) (outer frame), Oil on canvas, England, 19th century, At first glance this appears to be a family portrait complete with realistic details of middle-class English decor. In fact, it is a staged scene of domestic harmony, celebrating the end of the Crimean War. The father, a wounded officer, holds a copy of the Times announcing the war's end. One daughter clasps his combat medal. On the mother's lap, four animals from the toy Noah's Ark represent the four belligerents: Britain (lion), Russia (bear), the Ottoman Empire (turkey), and France (rooster). The girl at the left holds a dove with an olive branch in its beak, a symbol of peace. Millais belonged to a group of English painters called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Their work emphasized close observation of nature and the depiction of contemporary events.