A picturesque scene of cattle next to the River Leam by Thomas Baker of Leamington. Cows are depicted resting by a river bank whilst sheep graze in the opposite meadow. In the distance to the left, can be seen the distinctive spire of All Saints Church in Leamington Spa. Lord Kenelm Somerville was a Naval office and Scottish hereditary peer who was born on 14 November, 1747. He married Frances Louisa Hayman in 1833 and inherited his title of Lord Somerville in 1842 following the death of his half- brother and then his older brother. Soon after becoming the 17th Baron, he established a seat at Newbold Comyn in Leamington Spa where he raised his family. The house was sadly demolished in 1965 after falling into disrepair. A sketch of this painting appears in Baker’s diary, no 422. It was completed by the artist in November/December 1853 and was sold to Mr H Wallis.

Thomas Baker was a Midlands landscape painter born on 9 October, 1809 in Harborne, Birmingham. He studied under Vincent Barber (1788-1838) at the Barber family’s Charles Street Academy in Birmingham and started exhibiting from 1827. He painted the landscapes of Warwickshire, the Midlands and Wales usually with the inclusion of cattle and sheep and became known as “Baker of Leamington” or “Landscape Baker”. He signed each major picture “T Baker” and kept detailed records of all of his works along with diaries and notes, which are now held in the Birmingham City Art Gallery.

He exhibited at the Birmingham Society of Artists, the Royal Academy from 1831 – 1858, the British Institution and the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. Many of his works sold through ‘Carver & Gilders’ in Leamington and he gained many major patrons such as Lord Leigh; however he also supplemented his income by providing artistic tuition.

At the time of his premature death in Leamington Spa on 10 August, 1864, he had achieved considerable artistic acclaim becoming a member of the Birmingham Society of Artists and Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.

© Benton Fine Art