Cottage Children, ca. 1804-14

William Owen RA (1769 - 1825)

RA Collection: Art

Owen’s success was built on his prodigious output of portraits, but he also found time to paint some rustic scenes and fancy subjects. These paintings were popular as they presented a pleasing rendering of rural life. Although the children are poor, Owen depicts them as enjoying a quiet story at the end of the day. The abundance of nature is hinted at by the vine growing vigorously around the doorway.

Although Owen’s technique is not as sparkling as that of Sir Henry Raeburn’s, seen for instance in his bravura Boy and Rabbit, he nonetheless had a good sense of composition and used strong accents of light and shade to create an attractive composition which would have engendered sympathetic feelings from the exhibition visitor.