Trentside

A drover waits for his cattle to quench their thirst. Boats, windmills and a church steeple illustrate this idyllic view across the River Trent. The painting brings together many scenic elements of the riverside rather than accurately depicting a single viewpoint.

When the painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1861 the accompanying description stated that the cattle were painted by J. W. Bottomley (1816-1900). Bottomley was a sporting and animal painter thought to have painted cattle in a number of Thomas Creswick’s landscapes. This was not an unusual concept in the nineteenth century. Creswick often collaborated with artists such as William Powell Frith (1819-1909) and Thomas Sidney Cooper (1803-1902), whose work also hangs in the gallery.

Whilst a popular landscape artist at the Academy, Creswick’s relationship with some of his contemporaries was not always amicable. On account of his unkempt appearance he was nicknamed the ‘big unwashed’. Cooper was initially his friend and collaborator but he ended his days with great contempt for the landscape artist. Cooper felt that Creswick was the ringleader in a plot to prevent him from becoming a full Royal Academician, and called him ‘ignorant, vindictive and unsociable’ in his autobiography.

Purchased by Thomas Holloway, 1881.