Born in 1890, Doris (Dod) Shaw moved with her mother and brother to the Cornish town of Newlyn to enroll in Stanhope Forbes' School of Painting. Well known for it's plein-air and genre painting the school attracted students from across the country, including Ernest Procter. Meeting at the school, Ernest and Dod fell deeply in love, however had to wait until 1912 to marry due to Dod's youthful age.

During World War I Ernest saw active service in France while Dod looked after their baby son, Bill, and continued to paint amongst the artistic community in Cornwall. On Ernest's return a chance encounter with the Chinese merchant, Lim Ching Tsong in a Newlyn hotel, led to the couple being commissioned to decorate his...