The Early Ploughman

in or before 1861

Samuel Palmer

Associated Names
Samuel Palmer

Artist, British, 1805 - 1881

The image shows a landscape with a high horizon emphasizing the sky with cloud formations. Distant mountains fade into the background, and there are two oxen being guided by a farmer on a dirt path. A series of tall trees stand to the right, and a solitary figure is near the tree line. The image is monochromatic with dark and light shades creating contrast.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of William B. O'Neal

  • Dimensions

    plate: 17.6 x 24.5 cm (6 15/16 x 9 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 18.6 x 25.9 cm (7 5/16 x 10 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1991.150.98

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Lister 1988, no. 9, State vii/ix

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Professor William B. O'Neal [1907-1994], Charlottesville, VA; gift 1991 to the National Gallery of Art.

Associated Names

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, vii/ix

Inscriptions

lower right in graphite: Samuel Palmer

Wikidata ID

Q74894143

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