"Gill’s inspiration for this carving must be related to the fact that his wife gave birth to their third daughter, Joanna, on 1 February 1910. However, the child suckled by his mother is a male child, which gives the group a covert Christian theme and is the reason for its title of Madonna and Child." http://patrickhumphreys.tumblr.com/post/50556314639/eric-gill-madonna-and-child-late-1909-10