Sir George Clausen

Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from fields after harvest. The right to glean fields was reserved for people experiencing poverty. It became a popular subject in Victorian art but was often romanticised. This picture of women and children burdened with heavy loads, is set in Essex. Their hardship is apparent in their stances and empty gazes. Contemporary critics, however, mostly focused on Clausen’s style: ‘they carry the sun with them as they walk: they are absorbed in heat and colour’ (Pall Mall Gazette). Clausen dedicated his art to painting scenes of rural life.