Haymakers

Many 18th and 19th-century artists painted idealised scenes of haymaking and the harvest. The fact that the labourers in 'Haymakers' are well wrapped up to protect themselves from the sun indicates that De Wint was familiar with the realities of agricultural work. The man on a horse is probably an overseer. This watercolour may have been exhibited with the title 'Loading Hay' at the Old Watercolour Society in 1832. A sketchbook by De Wint in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum,London contains drawings of similar figures.