Artwork Page for The Wood Gatherers

Details / Information for The Wood Gatherers

The Wood Gatherers

1869

John William North

(British, 1842–1924)
Culture
England, 19th century
Medium
watercolor and gouache with scratch-away and touches of shell gold
Support
Off-white wove paper
Measurements
Sheet: 40.5 x 56.3 cm (15 15/16 x 22 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift in memory of Helen Borowitz 2013.239
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

In addition to his artistic career, John William North championed social justice for the agricultural laboring class in England, campaigning for decent rural sanitation and social housing.

Description

John William North’s watercolors of the rural landscape of Somerset unite the seemingly contradictory states of minutely rendered detail with atmospheric effects. Herbert Alexander, the artist’s biographer, described the artist’s interpretation of nature as similar to that of a poet, suggesting rather than describing: "In watercolor and oil an effect of intricate detail is found on examination to be quite illusive—multitudinous form is conjured by finding and losing it in endless hide-and-seek till the eye accepts infinity."
A horizontally oriented watercolor and gouache drawing depicts two figures with light skin tones on a grassy slope featuring yellow flowers. One woman, in a blue shirt and maroon skirt, leans left to pull a bundle of branches. Higher and to our left, a second person walks away carrying a bundle on their back. Muted green and brown hills roll toward the horizon under a pale, overcast sky in the background.

The Wood Gatherers

1869

John William North

(British, 1842–1924)
England, 19th century

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