1809, J.M.W. Turner, Harvest Dinner, Kingston Bank -- Tate Britain (London)
From the museum label: The 'dinner' here is no feast. Five adults, one of whom cradles a baby, share one small basket of food on a hot late summer day. Turner had sketched these people at Kingston-upon-Thames in 1805, possibly from a boat on the river. Like in other paintings he made, Turner draws attention to the hardship faced by labourers. He may have intended its title to be ironic -- for harvest is a time of plenty for all except those whose labour is exploited for profit. When this painting was first exhibited in Turner's own London gallery it was admired by younger artists John Sell Cotman and David Cox, who made pencil drawings of it.
1809, J.M.W. Turner, Harvest Dinner, Kingston Bank -- Tate Britain (London)
From the museum label: The 'dinner' here is no feast. Five adults, one of whom cradles a baby, share one small basket of food on a hot late summer day. Turner had sketched these people at Kingston-upon-Thames in 1805, possibly from a boat on the river. Like in other paintings he made, Turner draws attention to the hardship faced by labourers. He may have intended its title to be ironic -- for harvest is a time of plenty for all except those whose labour is exploited for profit. When this painting was first exhibited in Turner's own London gallery it was admired by younger artists John Sell Cotman and David Cox, who made pencil drawings of it.