The Boundary Fence, Forest of Fontainbleau

Considered by the Knight of Glin to be 'Hone's most important early work' (see A. Crookshank and Knight of Glin, loc. cit.), Boundary Fence is a quintessentially Fontainbleau painting. More than any other of Hone's canvases, it is dominated by rich chromatic greens, giving a feeling of filtered forest light. Darker tones are alleviated here and there by lighter greens, and by touches of mauve and brown, in the forms of deer and tree trunks. The painting is small but densely worked, trees delicately drawn, and foliage sensitively rendered in horizontal flecks of paint. (see Exhibition catalogue, Nathaniel Hone, Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland, loc. cit).
Sir George Brook, 1st Bart., (1849-1926), although a slightly younger man, was a great friend of the artist. Neighbours at Raheny, Sir George became one of a circle of admirers and patrons of the artist and his collection was considered one of the finest.