'Fields'

Sir George Clausen RA (1852 - 1944)

RA Collection: Art

In the foreground of this monochrome study of the effects of light, a group of pollarded trees stand on the left and a tall poplar tree on the right. Clausen used black crayon over pencil on these foreground elements to add emphasis, causing the pencil landscape behind to appear faded. Although this was a conventional method of conveying recession over distance, it also relates specifically to Clausen's landscapes of the 1920s, such as October Morning (1926; private collection), which capture the effects of early-morning mist in the landscape.

Pollarded trees appear in a number of Clausen's works, such as in Winter Morning (1906; Manchester City Art Gallery), and were a common feature of the Essex countryside where this drawing was undoubtedly made.