painting (oil): ["Landscape with Cattle"]

In the foreground on the right are two horned cows. Another cow can be seen in the middle distance on the right. To the left of the cows is a group of four sheep, one of these is a ram which stands and looks out towards the spectator. Further to the left in the shade of a grove of trees is a shepherd with sheep and a goat. It is early evening and the clouds hanging low in the blue sky are suffused with an amber glow. Virag 20/12/2004, Between 1984 and 1985, a research assistant, Dr. Brendan Cassidy, was employed by Nottingham Castle Museum to research and write a catalogue of the foreign oil paintings in their collection. The catalogue never materialised, but drafts and notes relating to Cassidy's research can be found in the Artist Files and in the Archive at the museum. All references to Cassidy relate to these documents. On the front: An area at lower left has been cleaned to reveal a figure - a peasant or shepherd. A white deposit has been left on the paint surface. There are isolated paint losses on the lower half of the panel, especially on the ram in the foreground. There are also paint losses around the edges, especially along the top. The paint is very thin in the sky, and the grain, which runs in the horizontal direction, can be seen through it. There is a sliver of wood missing from the top edge. On the reverse: The edges are champfered. 1. NCM accession number 2. Christie's stencil: "2 5 5 A" 3. On panel, the remains of a label with a line of handwriting in ink which is too faint to make out, but could relate to the donor, C.L. Buckle 4. On panel, white chalk marks, largely indecipherable but one word could be "may" 5. On frame, modern label in blue biro: "42" From Cassidy's notes c.1984: 6. Cassidy noted c.1984 that there was a stencil on the frame: "A 127 (?)" 7. Label on the frame (this is no longer there) which states: "March 1886 Lent to Midland Counties Art Museum by miss BRODHURST". There are no records on file to suggest that the painting has been restored and it seems to be in the same condition described by Cassidy c.1984. Virag 20/12/2004, 1886 : Miss Broadhurst of Lindum Holme Lodge, Lindum Road, Lincoln