Herding the Cattle

Click to enlarge

‘Herding the Cattle’

Oil on canvas
24″ x 40″

Henry H Parker

Henry H Parker was a late nineteenth and early twentieth century London landscape artist. His style was greatly influenced by the impressionists of the time, using bold colours and fluid brush strokes to produce his lush and tranquil landscapes and riverscenes. His paintings are bright and sunny, with dramatic skies,  using the free controlled techniques favoured by the emerging and ever popular impressionists, providing a welcome relief from his more traditional predecessors.

In this fine workHerding the Cattle, Henry H Parker has selected a particularly pleasing composition, with all the elements needed for an idyllic rural scene – pretty thatched farm buildings, with hens and chickens, luscious green fields, a duck pond and the star of the show, a young milk maid herding her cattle home from the fields for milking. The scene is set under a magnificent sky, with rolling clouds kissed with the rosy glow of an early evening sun, indicating a fine day the following morning. Henry H Parker has used  free but controlled brush strokes, bold application of bright paint, giving texture and depth to the painting. As with all Henry H Parker’s paintings, it tells of a time gone by, a scene of nostalgia, where life was hard but rewarding and above all, a celebration of our great British countryside.

Unusually for an artist of Henry H Parker’s caliber, he doesn’t appear to have exhibited at the major exhibitions at the time. The simple explanation seems to be that his beautiful landscapes, with their desirable subject matter and executed with impressionist brush strokes and vibrant colour, found a ready market with the rising bourgeoisie, eager to fill their smart town houses with reminders of the life they left behind in the country.

© Sutcliffe Galleries 2019


Enquiries

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Telephone (required)

Subject

Your Message

Enter these letters below: captcha