Driving sheep in a rocky landscape
David Cox British
Not on view
Beginning in the 1830s, Cox became known for his distinctive, washy handling, which was well suited to conveying effects of wind and weather. His late style is used here to represent a shepherd and his flock. Reserved paper indicates a bright cloud in the sky, and scratches on a tree trunk suggest sparkles of recent rain. A similar work, View near Betwys-y-Coed (1846; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery), provides an approximate date and locale for this drawing. Cox visited the Conwy valley in Wales every summer from 1844 to 1856. He wrote to his son in 1853 to explain his rough handling as signifying landscapes that are "the work of the mind [rather than] portraits of places."
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