Halsway Court, Somerset

This work is the largest and most compelling of North's rare early watercolours. It celebrates the picturesque farmhouse which fired his youthful imagination, every detail being rendered with gem-like care. The general conception, and the ability to distil something so poignant from the simplest of natural elements, is entirely consistent with what is known of North's genius. The drawing marks a climax, a peak of early visionary intensity which gives his later productions, whatever their virtues, the character of a long diminuendo.