This beautiful mid-19th-century landscape painting by highly regarded British artist George Turner (1841-1910) depicts a view near Swarkestone in Derbyshire. The River Trent meanders past a rugged tree, which reaches from the water’s edge. Cattle graze in the foreground.

Turner was a master of the Derbyshire environs. He captured bucolic views with proficient handling and a deep connection to an area he treasured. Dubbed ‘Derbyshire's John Constable’, he conveys a sense of the rural idyll with aplomb.

Here, we see a work from the early part of his career, he was just 23 at the time. He’s known to have studied from nature and recorded as sitting alongside other artists while sketching the undulant scenery. Note the sky, typically British, with grey moving towards a crack of blue. The river shimmers with echoes of the latter.

The Edwardian press described his ‘sterling artistic qualities’ and ‘fidelity to nature’.

Signed, dated, inscribed and held within a later swept frame.

Learn more about George Turner in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 30½” x 36” / 77cm x 91cm
Year of creation: 1864
Condition: Artwork presents well. Frame with some light wear.
Artist’s auction highlight: £15,903 achieved for an oil painting in 1989.