painting (oil): ["Winter Scene, River with Figures Skating"]

Underneath a wintry sky some people are skating on a frozen river. On the left, a man with his back to us and holding a long pole skates away into the middle-ground. More skaters can be seen in the distance. To his right, a boy in red on a sledge is pushed by his companion. Beside them, an old man and a woman, wearing a yellow blouse and red skirt and accompanied by a child, engage in conversation. In the middle-distance, further to the left, two men are talking, one sits on the edge of a boat. At the right edge of the frozen river, three men are loading parcels onto a cart drawn by a white horse. A fourth man carrying a bundle on his back is seen coming down the steps of a thatched building on the bank above. A sign bearing a star motif is attached to the front of the building, suggesting that it is probably a tavern. Another figure can be seen in the doorway of the building and outside, to the right, are two elm stumps. At the bottom of the steps, two men appear to be making a fishing hole. A rectangular block of ice has already been cut out to their right. Virag 15/12/2004, 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. NCM 1904-93 was cleaned and re-touched in 1986 by Jesse Bruton Picture Restoration, Wolverhampton. According to the report dated 27 November 1986, the support of NCM 1904-93 comprises two pieces of oak panel joined horizontally. There is a slight crack at the left side, just above the centre, measuring approx. 14cms in length from the left-hand side towards the middle of the panel. This crack corresponds with the activity of the join in the two panels described in the conservation report: "The joint has moved at some time (possibly against the panel bowing upwards) causing it to slightly open at the surface and the paint film to crack along the line of the join from the left edge to a point of 6 inches onwards. The panel now appears stable". There is no corresponding crack on the panel reverse - the crack is thought to have been caused by shrinkage. Treatment in 1986 involved removing yellowed varnish, inpainting exposed and abrazed linear high spots and revarnishing. On the reverse: 1. Old, printed label in florid typescript: "White Ancient & Modern Printseller PICTURE FRAME MAKER N.W.Brow[n] low Street (Cassidy - "N.14 Broughton Street") (HOLBORN) Collections of Prints & Drawings Purchased" (Most likely this label relates to the framing of the painting) 2. There are some indecipherable white chalk marks. 3. NCM accession number(s) Virag 15/12/2004, Collection of Richard Godson Millns