The picturesque location of her Surrey home was a great source of inspiration for the artist Helen Allingham, for no further than outside her garden gate she was able to capture everyday sights and events in watercolour. These scenes provided endless subjects for her work and for which there was a growing demand. The inclusion of her children in paintings lends a very personal touch - variations show them indoors, at play in the garden or even on holiday at the seaside: these watercolours date between 1881 and 1888 when the family lived at Sandhills near Witley.

'The Apple-Tree Seat' depicts the artist's three children Henry, Gerald and Eva Margaret accompanied by their nurse, Elizabeth Haddon, who is quietly sewing; however the setting is not in the grounds of Sandhills. A very similar version, but just showing Eva Margaret sitting on the same wooden seat, appears on page 45 of 'Rhymes for the Young Folk' illustrating the poem 'I saw a little birdie fly' by William Allingham.
We are grateful to Annabel Watts for her help in preparing this catalogue entry.

Richard Henry (Dick) Moore, the previous owner of this watercolour, was captain at Hampshire County Cricket Club from 1936-1938.