This absorbing view of a mill by British artist Joshua Anderson Hague (1850-1916) captures the energy of cascading water with an array of impressionistic marks.

Through a clever composition, the whole scene ebbs and flows from top to bottom, zigzagging its way from the clouds to the rocks by our feet. He’s describing a working landscape, the active mill fed by its environment. You can almost hear the wheel turning.

The inclusion of the girl on the bridge is also an intelligent one as it draws the eye and reinforces the weaving pattern. The pink of her dress standing out in a palette of natural tones.

Hague painted the mill at different times of the year so perhaps it’s a place he knew well. A summertime version of this view sold at Christie’s for £3,500 with the title ‘Woodland Glade, Near Aysgarth, Wensleydale’.

Learn more about Joshua Anderson Hague in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 29” x 33” / 73cm x 84cm
Year of creation: c. 1890
Condition: Artwork presents well. Frame with some light wear and minor cracking.
Artist’s auction highlight: £19,000 achieved for an oil painting in 2010.