A Soldier’s Return

George Morland prints bring the farmyards, stables, country inns and sporting fields of 18th-century England into your home. Morland was a gifted and hugely prolific English painter of rustic life, whose pictures were spread widely through engravings. Our collection of fine art prints covers his farm and stable scenes, shooting and hunting series, coastal smugglers and gypsies, and charming domestic subjects from the 1780s.

About George Morland

George Morland was born in London on 26 June 1763, the son of the painter Henry Robert Morland. He began drawing at three, and at ten his sketches were shown at the Royal Academy. His father trained him hard, setting him to copy Dutch and Flemish pictures, and he was allowed to copy works by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Before he was seventeen he had a real reputation, and William Ward's engraving of his The Angler's Repast was published in 1780.

He broke with his father around 1784 and set up on his own, living a famously wild life among grooms, jockeys and pugilists while painting at great speed. In 1786 he married Anne Ward, sister of the engraver William Ward, who in turn married Morland's sister Maria. Engravings such as Children Nutting and the six-part story of Letitia made him widely known, and he painted coast scenes on the Isle of Wight.

Around 1791 he was at the height of his powers, when he painted The Inside of a Stable, now in the National Gallery. But he fell more and more into the hands of dealers, painting one or two pictures a day to pay his bills, and spent his last decade in debt. He died in London on 29 October 1804, aged 41.

Style and Subjects

Morland's early work follows the gentle, sentimental manner of Francis Wheatley, with pretty domestic scenes and young lovers. From the 1790s he found his own style: rough, honest pictures of country life in rich, earthy colour, drawing on Dutch Golden Age painting.

His favourite subjects were horses, pigs, donkeys and dogs, farmyards and stables, inns and alehouses, smugglers and gypsies, and shooting parties. Much of his work was made to be engraved, and the prints made his images familiar in homes across England.

Famous Works

• The Angler's Repast (c. 1780). An early picture engraved by William Ward and published in 1780.
• A Tea Garden (1790). Fashionable Londoners taking tea outdoors, from his sentimental early period.
• Peasants in Front of a Hut (1790), Städel Museum, Frankfurt. A rustic cottage scene.
• The Inside of a Stable (1791), National Gallery, London. Probably the stable of the White Lion Inn at Paddington, painted at the height of his powers.
• Smugglers on a Beach (1793), National Trust. Contraband landed on a lonely shore.
• Inside of a Country Alehouse (1797). Drinkers and a barmaid in a village inn.
• Selling Fish (1799), Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry. Fishermen selling their catch on the shore.

Decorating with Morland Prints

Morland's farm and stable scenes suit kitchens, country-style dining rooms and boot rooms, where their warm browns and greens fit well with wood, stone and rustic furniture. His sporting series, like Partridge Shooting, look handsome in a study, den or hallway.

The gentler early pictures of families and young couples work in a bedroom or sitting room, and the smugglers and coast scenes add character to a seaside home.

FAQ

What was George Morland known for?

He was known for scenes of English country life: farms, stables, inns, smugglers, gypsies and shooting parties. His pictures were widely engraved and very popular.

What is George Morland's most famous painting?

The Inside of a Stable (1791), now in the National Gallery in London, is often called his finest work.

Who influenced George Morland?

His early work was influenced by Francis Wheatley, and his father trained him by copying Dutch and Flemish masters, whose earthy realism shaped his mature style.

Why did George Morland paint so many pictures?

He painted very quickly, sometimes one or two pictures a day, often to pay dealers and debts, which made him enormously prolific though his late work is uneven.

Related Artists

• Francis Wheatley: English painter whose sentimental style shaped Morland's early work
• William Ward: engraver of his pictures, his brother-in-law and friend
• John Raphael Smith: publisher of the engraving of The Angler's Repast
• Sir Joshua Reynolds: Morland was allowed to copy his paintings as a young man
• Julius Caesar Ibbetson: English painter of rustic scenes in the same years