WILFRID GABRIEL DE GLEHN, R.A., N.E.A.C. (BRITISH, 1870-1951)

During the 1930s the de Glehns rented the Old Rectory in Wilton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, as a weekend retreat, before going on to purchase the Manor House in nearby Stratford Tony in 1942, after their house in Cheyne Walk was destroyed during the Blitz. After settling in Wiltshire the couple befriended a local author and artist, Guy Rawlence, who regularly painted alongside Wilfrid, for instance a watercolour by Rawlence of the same scene is still in the family's possession. Rawlence's 1935 diary (Private Collection) relates that on 13 September 'Wilfrid gave me a very lovely picture', which one can assume is the present work.