Grazing sheep, summer

Although the location of the present landscape remains to be discovered, its central motifs, a still pond or river’s edge, green meadow and grazing sheep are ingredients that occur regularly in East’s work – so regularly indeed that the artist was to devote a chapter to ‘Grass’ in his The Art of Landscape Painting (1906). Surveying a meadow he appreciated all of the difficulties of perspective and advocated ‘the greatest study and closest observation’ for its successful representation. In a grassy sward, one could observe ‘tints of the sky’ as well as local colour (1919 imp, p. 73). The present ensemble is however distinguished by the warmth of the sky and the ambient light. It was this capturing of classic Englishness for which contemporary critics returned habitually to East’s landscapes. KMc.