Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S. (1878-1959)

By 1903, Munnings had established a studio for himself in Swainsthorpe, near Norwich, while retaining lodgings in Mendham. He would go off on his nomadic travels, for months at a time, with caravan, ponies and lads throughout East Anglia. The present composition shows similarities in both landscape and the palette adopted to his Crostwick Common paintings of this period. It is an early painting with sheep, a subject he returned to during his time in Exmoor, some years later, where Mrs Barden's sheep were amongst his favourites.