A Farm Labourer or Gardener
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1675 - circa 1690
Materials
Oil, canvas, wood
Measurements
1981 x 1295 mm (78 x 51 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Clandon Park, Surrey
NT 1441520
Summary
[Destroyed in the fire of 2015] Oil painting on canvas, A Farm Labourer or Gardener, British (English) School, circa 1675-1690. An old labourer is standing by an open door through which a walled garden is visible. He looks upwards and points with his right hand. In his left hand is a pitchfork supported on his shoulder. At the right is a structure like an enclosed pump-house, projecting from the tile-topped brick wall receding behind, with a swivelling handle. The initials R. O. are inscribed on the structure, which may be an allusion to Richard Onslow (1601 - 1664) or his grandson (1654 - 1717). On the ground are gardening tools and two broken clay pipes. Two ends of a red sash emerge from beneath the subject's coat, which may represent some sort of livery.
Provenance
Originally painted for Denzil Onslow (1640/1–1721) at Pyrford Court; Accepted by the Treasury in lieu of Estate Duty on the death of Lady Iveagh in 1968 and transferred to the National Trust (1968 Schedule B)
Credit line
Clandon Park, The Onslow Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Inscribed on the structure to the right: R. O.
Makers and roles
British (English) School, artist previously catalogued as attributed to Francis Barlow (Lincolnshire c.1626 - London 1704), artist possibly Leendert Knijff (Haarlem 1650 – London 1721), artist
References
Whinney, Margaret Dickins. English art 1625-1714 1957., p.279 Clandon Park, Surrey, 1964: [National Trust; Pamela, Countess of Onslow] 1964, p.24 Clandon Park, Surrey, 2002: [National Trust; Sophie Chessum & Christopher Rowell], 2002, p.36, in the State Dining Room