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The Shearers

1833–34
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 808
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
Palmer’s idyllic rural scenes owe much to the glorification of nature championed by the artist-poet William Blake (1757–1827). In this painting, made while Palmer was living in the village of Shoreham in Kent, a radiant landscape enfolds a group of hard-working shearers: the men wrestle the sheep while the women gather their wool. The hat that dominates the still-life of farm implements in the foreground was, according to Palmer’s son Alfred, "one of my father’s most treasured possessions, occurring over and over again in the works of this time."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Shearers
  • Artist: Samuel Palmer (British, London 1805–1881 Redhill, Surrey)
  • Date: 1833–34
  • Medium: Oil and tempera on wood
  • Dimensions: 20 3/8 x 28 in. (51.8 x 71.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Private collection, Courtesy of R.L. Feigen & Co.
  • Object Number: L.2010.41
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings