Lingering Autumn

Like many English gentlemen, Millais spent his autumns hunting, shooting and fishing in Scotland. These holidays inspired a series of large canvases painted with photographic realism, devoid of any obvious compositional principles or any consciously artistic features. However, this simple, direct approach and the simple subject matter - just a child carrying water - suits the mood of autumnal bleakness sought by the artist. The mill stream at Murthly, Perthshire is in the foreground with the River Tay beyond.