Julius Caesar Ibbetson (Leeds 1759-1817 Masham, Yorkshire)

The present work dates to Ibbetson's London period. In 1777 the artist moved to the Capital and in 1785, he exhibited his first picture at the Royal Academy, continuing to exhibit there over the next thirty years. Around 1790 the artist painted pastoral scenes on plaster for the library ceiling at Kenwood House, London. Ibbetson was then living in Kilburn, and it is possible that this picture depicts one of the toll gates into north London. In 1792 he also toured Wales, resulting in the publication of his book of engravings, A Picturesque Guide (1793).