This fine and rare early example of Leader's work, executed at a time when he was much influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, shows a scene at Whittington, a small farming village just south of Worcester. The timbered and brick buildings to the left were probably part of Church Farm as it was at that date. Leader was currently lodging with a Mrs Doe at 'Bank House', but a few years later he moved permanently to the village, taking a house called 'The Lodge'. There he married in 1876, and five of his children were born there before the family moved to Surrey in 1889.

The painting dates from the period in Leader's career when he was beginning to concentrate on 'pure' landscape and reducing the genre element which had been so marked in his work in the 1850s. The Pre-Raphaelite influence is seen in the close attention to detail, the bright prismatic colours applied to a white ground to ensure maximum illumination, and the decision to paint the subject under conditions of strong sunlight. With their passion for visual and expressional clarity, the Pre-Raphaelites frequently opted for a summer setting.
We are grateful to Ruth Wood for her help in preparing this entry.