William Huggins (1820-1884)

Bideston Farmhouse was painted at a turning point in Huggins' career, for not only was 1850 the year in which he was elected a full member of the Liverpool Academy, but that same year the London Pre-Raphaelites first exhibited in Liverpool. It was their influence that encouraged Huggins to paint in transparent glazes over a white ground. This work is an early example of this use of glazes, leaning toward Pre-Raphaelite techniques whilst retaining his visual acuity of observation reminiscent of John Sell Cotman.