December

Samuel John Lamorna Birch 1869 - 1955

Summary

This is a realistic, snowy landscape scene of group of tall trees on the left of the painting, growing on the bank of small stream. There are sheep grazing on right bank, and houses and buildings in distance. There is a path behind the trees on the left, and a white, cloudy sky.

Display Label

December 1905 Samuel John Lamorna Birch 1869-1965 Oil on canvas Born at Egremont, on the Cheshire bank of the Mersey, Birch moved to Manchester and later to Halton, Lancashire, working at mills and factories before becoming an artist. Self-taught, his mother encouraged him to be a painter after he exhibited here at Manchester City Art Gallery in his teens. Greatly interested in the French Impressionists, especially Alfred Sisley and Claude Monet, Birch spent 7 months painting in France in 1896. He settled in the Cornish village of Lamorna in 1902. Birch worked mainly outdoors, even in wintry conditions. His snow scenes were often painted near his studio, from where his daughter brought him coffee and buns, while he worked in plus-fours, woollen socks and gloves. Purchased 1905.23