George MorlandOutside the Ale-House Door 1792

Pictures of country peasants at work
and play were popular with urban art audiences in the late-eighteenth
century. They provided a reassuring
vision of timeless rural life. In reality
the countryside was changing rapidly,
with the introduction of modern
farming techniques and the growth
of political unrest.

Morland specialised in such scenes, though his treatment of rough rural characters sometimes went beyond
what was acceptable to polite viewers.