Easedale, Westmorland
by E Bennett 
Research by Sally Banister & Norma Smeaton 
Picture
Acc No                    30 
Artist                        E Bennett 
Artist dates              unknown
Medium                   oil on canvas
Size                         61.0 x 91.4 cm (24 x 36 in)
Date painted            unknown
Inscr:                        signed (L.R.) inscribed on reverse
Donor                       Mrs Sarah Ellen Crompton
                                25 Ansdell Road North, Lytham St Annes​
Donated                   24 April 1944

Note:   Is described as 'A Scene in Cumberland' in Council Minutes
Also donated On the River Dee by E Bennett
​The Young Squires Wedding by Thomas Falcon Marshall
Clovelly Harbour by Samuel Towers
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ARTIST & PAINTING

The dates of the artist are unknown and research has failed to uncover any information about the artist. The painting is signed (LR) inscribed on the reverse.

E Bennett was following in a tradition of landscape painting developed by Constable. It is likely that the artist started with a pale red/brown ground and then would establish the composition and the tonal values with underpainting. The next step would then be to build up the paint in thicker layers, sometimes allowing the ground and underpainting to show through.

The painting depicts people going about their activities around a watermill. There is a rocky river bank with mature trees, possibly turning brown in early autumn, with the hills in the background adding to the autumnal feel of the painting.

The woman in the foreground is collecting water at the river crossing. Two men are walking towards the watermill and there is a figure in the window looking out towards them. More figures can be seen in the background who have crossed the river and are walking towards the foothills.
REFERENCES

Techniques of the World's Great Painters, Consultant Ed: Waldemar Januszczak,1987, Tiger Books International