Lot Essay
FREDERICK SMALLFIELD WAS A PROLIFIC GENRE PAINTER AND WATERCOLOURIST OF GREAT VERSATILITY. AS WELL AS EXECUTING WORKS WHICH BETRAY A PRE-RAPHAELITE INFLUENCE, HE ALSO PRODUCED PIECES SUCH AS THIS, WHICH, WITH ITS PEACOCK FEATHER, MEDITERRANEAN SETTING, AND CELEBRATION OF CHILDHOOD, CARRIES AN ECHO OF LEIGHTON'S AESTHETICISM. HE EXHIBITED AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY BETWEEN 1849 AND 1896, AT THE BRITISH INSTITUTION AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF BRITISH ARTISTS, THE GROSVENOR GALLERY, THE OLD WATERCOLOUR SOCIETY, AND THE NEW WATERCOLOUR SOCIETY.