Marcus Stone, R.A. (1840-1921)

Stone frequently painted multiple versions of his compositions, and In the garden relates to one of his largest works, My Lady is a Widow and Childless (sold in these Rooms, 19 February 2003, lot 14), which delighted the critics. Baldry in The Art Annual noted that 'indeed it is one of his best paintings', and it was a subject that he returned to at least two more times; another version hangs in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. In the present lot, Stone has reduced the composition to a central female figure dressed simply and elegantly in a pink dress and white shawl, holding her young child with one arm and a picnic basket in the other. Here Stone characteristically depicts with charm the simple joys of family life.