A walk in the country

Garnet Ruskin Wolseley began his formal training at Hubert von Herkomer's art school in Bushey, from where he won a scholarship to the Slade. There, under the tutelage of Henry Tonks and Fred Brown he was awarded a gold medal. In 1908, at the age of 24, he moved to Newlyn. The Cornish fishing village was already firmly established as an artist's colony, and he formed a close friendship with Laura and Harold Knight, who had arrived from the Yorkshire fishing village of Staithes the previous year. Their influence can be seen in his light filled and impressionistic works, which are predominantly a celebration of youthful and carefree Cornish life.