David Bates, Forest View With Distant Peaks, North Wales

David Bates, Forest View With Distant Peaks, North WalesThis late 19th century oil painting by British artist David Bates (1840 1921) depicts a woodland landscape in North Wales. A young girl sits to rest under the sinuous bough of a leaning birch amid the golden tones of autumnal foliage. An older figure, perhaps a parent, carries sticks gathered from the land. Overhead, the clouds culminate in a bright horizon, which illuminates the distant craggy peaks. Bates loved it here in North Wales and painted a

Ilsted was one of the leading artists of his generation and his works are often compared with Dutch artist

Old repairs to cracks in the panel but now stable

It’s tempting to consider this as a study for that larger work as it was produced around the same time

a figure is stooping with a heavy case slung over his right shoulder

While the crunch of nearby leaves is offset by flickers of white

The painting is signed in the lower right and housed within a beautiful foliate frame with decorative ornamentation

which provides contrast for the bright flora

it wasn’t an easy path for her

Medium: Oil on canvasOverall size: 35½” x 28½” / 90cm x 72cmYear of creation: c

4 children

a 10th-century fortress

Resting under the bough of an old oak