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Lot Essay
This view is taken from Hellesden near Norwich, of the pollard trees and marshes near Horse-Shoe Reach. Four paintings and an etching of this subject by Middleton are recorded of which three, including the present picture, and the etching are known. The other two pictures are both in the Norwich Castle Museum and show slightly different views from a closer viewpoint (Coleman Collection, nos. 132.235.951 and 1133.235.951).
This work shows Middleton's concern for detail which is reminiscent of the work of his teacher John Berney Ladbrooke. The intimacy and sensitivity of his depiction of the countryside is characteristic of his work.
Middleton exhibited a number of oils, in London at both the Royal Academy and the British Institution from 1847 to 1855, and with the Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Promotion of Fine Arts. His work in this medium was particularly well received and on 11 December 1847, the Norfolk Chronicle commented that Middleton was 'one of the most rising young artists of the day', praising the 'brilliancy of colouring and charming alternation of light and shade, with admirable drawing and grouping'.
This work shows Middleton's concern for detail which is reminiscent of the work of his teacher John Berney Ladbrooke. The intimacy and sensitivity of his depiction of the countryside is characteristic of his work.
Middleton exhibited a number of oils, in London at both the Royal Academy and the British Institution from 1847 to 1855, and with the Norfolk and Norwich Association for the Promotion of Fine Arts. His work in this medium was particularly well received and on 11 December 1847, the Norfolk Chronicle commented that Middleton was 'one of the most rising young artists of the day', praising the 'brilliancy of colouring and charming alternation of light and shade, with admirable drawing and grouping'.