Old Cottage, near Freshwater, Isle of Wight

After her husband's death in 1889, Helen Allingham often took her three children to the Isle of Wight during the Spring and stayed near the Tennyson's home at Farringford. Helen often accompanied both Lord Tennyson and his son Hallam on their daily walks and it was then that they pointed out farmhouses, cottages and views of the coast which they thought might provide suitable subjects for her paintings.

Another version of this building appears in The Cottage Homes of England, bearing the title 'Cottage Gate, Spring'.

We are grateful to Annabel Watts for preparing this catalogue entry.