On the edge of Shere Heath

This quiet, reflective view of a rabbit warren with gorse bushes, a larch and Scots pines on the heath at Shere is typical of the views of Southern England that Marks painted. Shere is close to the ridge of the North Downs that run across north Surrey between Dorking and Haslemere. This area was particularly popular with painters in the second half of the 19th century and an artist's community formed around the village and surrounding countryside. Marks lived at Shere from 1887 until 1925 when he moved to Symonds Yat on the river Wye in Herefordshire, where he remained until his death.