Featured Lot: George Morland, “The Gipsies’ Tent”

In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week: George Morland, “The Gipsies’ Tent.”
 
Born in London in 1763, painter George Morland was on an artistic career trajectory from an early age. Drawing by the age of 3, Morland received his first honorary exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1773 — at age 10. He was raised in a home of privilege, and Morland’s talent was recognized by his father, who pushed the budding artist to cultivate his skills from an early age.
 
Throughout his career, Morland was known for his pastoral subjects and love of wildlife. Late in the painter’s career, his elegant and refined subjects were gradually replaced by scenes of rural, humble life in the English countryside. Unfortunately, publishers, who produced for great profit thousands of engravings after the artist’s work, exploited the popularity of Morland’s images.
 
Although his life and career were marred by several unfortunate bouts of debt and drunkenness, Morland produced art at a prolific rate. Scholars estimate that his total production was no less than 4,000 pictures.
 
The market for the painter’s work today is modest, with prices often ranging around $20,000. Heading to the block on February 20 via Heritage Auctions is “The Gipsies’ Tent” — a quintessential of both the artist and English Romanticism. Deep within the English countryside, a travelling family of gypsies has stopped at the end of the day to camp. Beneath lush foliage and trees, a mother tends to her two young children as others nap and set up their site. The feathery brushwork is lovely in the piece, and it is accentuated by the balanced palette of pastel greens, blues, pinks, and oranges. Auction estimates are between $15,000 and $25,000.
 
To view the full catalogue, visit Heritage Auctions.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.