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You are here: Home > Resources > The Changing Landscape > Art Works > Evening at Warham
This striking view of a gypsy woman working in the field, picks up on a theme explored by the French artist Jean Francois Millet, of the noble peasant and the dignity of labour. After a long day in the fields, pulling turnips by hand, this woman stands to stretch her back, silhouetted against the winter evening sky. The long bladed bill hook in her hand has been used to remove the green tops from the heavy roots, which are thrown into a pile beside her. Brian conveys the physical and spiritual strength of this statuesque figure, overcoming the harshness and drudgery of her toil, in a cold February landscape. Even the pile of turnips has a monumental quality in the slanting sunlight casting long evening shaddows. Brian's handling of the paint emphasises the contrast between the large leafed plants in the field, and the shaddowy trees in the middle distance. This view is looking south-west across the wooded valley of the river Wye not far from Brian's home in Hereford.