Lot Essay
As the Art Journal (1897, p. 170) observed, Hacker was 'possessed with a similar spirit to that of Mr Dicksee in endeavouring to avoid the danger of painting in a single groove.' Best known, perhaps, for his figure subjects in the French academic style, as exemplified by The Annunciation (1892; Tate Gallery) or The Cloud (1901; Bradford), he also attempted society portraits, rural themes in the manner of the Hague School and Bastien-Lepage, and landscapes and cityscapes showing the influence of the Impressionists. This present lot belongs to this category. Comparable examples are Buttercup Meadow (undated; Manchester) and his R.A. Diploma work, A Wet Night at Piccadilly Circus, exhibited 1911.