George Morland

This work is typical of the rustic landscape scenes most associated with Morland at the height of his prolific career. His paintings of the early 1790s combine fluid brushwork with echoes of the 17th-century Dutch landscapes his artist father compelled him to copy throughout his seven-year apprenticeship. Closer examination of Morland’s apparently sentimental work reveals undercurrents of class tension. His frequent depiction of alehouses in particular did not sit easily with more conservative contemporaries – a reason perhaps why he did not accept commissions and preferred to sell his work through dealers.