The Early Ploughman

in or before 1861

Samuel Palmer

Associated Names
Samuel Palmer

Artist, British, 1805 - 1881

The image depicts a landscape with a low vantage point. It shows a rural scene with a horizon near the upper third of the composition. In the distance, there are silhouetted mountains and a structure on a hill. The artwork features dense cross-hatching brushwork creating a textured look in the sky and landscape. The color palette is monochromatic with browns and dark sepia tones. A farmer is seen plowing a field with oxen, and a figure is standing near tall trees. Birds fly in the sky above.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Jacob Kainen

  • Dimensions

    plate: 17.5 x 25 cm (6 7/8 x 9 13/16 in.)
    sheet: 18.4 x 26.5 cm (7 1/4 x 10 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2002.98.172

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lister 1988, no. 9, State v/ix

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Frank Baker Bristow [b. 1885], VA (Lugt 982a). Jacob Kainen, Washington, D.C.; gift to NGA, 2002.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2002

  • An Artist's Artists: Jacob Kainen's Collection from Rembrandt to David Smith, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2002-2003.

Bibliography

1968

  • Lister, Raymond. Samuel Palmer and His Etchings.New York: Watson-Gulptill, 1968.

1988

  • Lister, Raymond. Catalogue Raisonne of the Works of Samuel Palmer. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988: no. 9, v/ix

Inscriptions

by later hand, lower right in graphite: Alexander 9- 2nd state / 625

Wikidata ID

Q76357187

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