The sculpture depicts the two daughters of Ellen-Jane Robinson ( Woodhouse) lying asleep on a bed in each other's arms. The tragic story depicted by the sculpture begins in 1812, when Ellen-Jane's husband, the clergyman Reverend William Robinson, who had recently become a
prebendary of Lichfield Cathedral, contracted
tuberculosis and died. Reverend Robinson was in his thirties at the time of his death and left his wife with their two daughters. the daughter of
Sir Brooke Boothby, 6th Baronet, who had died during childhood. Chantrey visited this monument and then returned to his home to make a model of his proposed sculpture. ==Construction and display==