This mid-19th-century watercolour by British artist Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding (1787-1855) depicts a mother and child in a landscape with cattle. Copley Fielding was one of the leading watercolourists of his generation.
Two silver birch trees reach across a dust-covered track where a mother and child cast long shadows. It’s Summer and lazy cattle amble towards the shade of a nearby wood. In the distance, the gently rolling hills culminate in a bluish-tinted haze. While above, the clouds pass in a tranquil diagonal formation.
Copley Fielding treasured the scenic beauty of the British countryside. Captivated by the ever-changing effects of light and nature’s enduring appeal. Working prolifically across the British Isles, he captured picturesque views from the Sussex Downs to the expansive lakes of the Highlands.
He exhibited 327 works at the Royal Watercolour Society and 17 paintings at the Royal Academy. Today, he’s represented in many public collections including the V&A, British Museum, Tate, Wallace Collection and Berlin National Gallery.
Signed/dated in the lower right, framed and glazed.
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Medium: Watercolour on paper
Overall size: 19½” x 16” / 50cm x 41cm
Year of creation: 1841
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Areas of light foxing.
Artist’s auction maximum: £21,000 for ‘Extensive View of Greenwich, London (1821)’, Watercolour, pencil, pen, brown ink, gum arabic/paper, Christie’s, British Art On Paper, London, 2003 (lot 70).
Our reference: BRV1903
