A lady with peacocks in a garden, an Italianate landscape beyond

Maria married the American writer and journalist William James Stillman, a freelance foreign correspondent for the Times, the couple spent a number of years in Italy, initially in Florence, between 1878 and 1883 and subsequently in Rome from 1889 to 1896. The art and culture of Italy suited Maria and the years spent there, particularly those spent in Florence, were amongst her most productive. The present watercolour must have been executed either towards the end of Maria’s time in Italy or on her return to England.