Artwork
Waddock Farm, Clyffe, Nr. Dorchester
Waddock Farm, Clyffe, Nr. Dorchester is a watercolor work on paper by Hennell. It dates from 1940 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Waddock Farm, Clyffe, Nr.
About this work
Overview
Waddock Farm, Clyffe, Nr. Dorchester is a 1940 watercolour by Hennell, created as part of the Recording Britain collection.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a serene rural scene with a weathered house, a man herding sheep, and surrounding trees and bushes, capturing a moment of everyday life in the English countryside.
Technique & Style
Hennell employed loose, sketchy brushstrokes to convey light and shadow, resulting in a soft, gentle atmosphere with muted greens, browns, and blues.
History & Provenance
The work was commissioned by the Ministry of Labour and National Service as part of the Recording Britain initiative, funded by the Pilgrim Trust and directed by Sir Kenneth Clark, to document Britain's landscape and cultural heritage during wartime.
Context
The Recording Britain project aimed to preserve scenes threatened by war damage, urban expansion, and agricultural change, sustaining traditional art forms while recording a perceived 'vanishing Britain'.
Artist & collection
Artist
The Hennell family is a family of prominent silver-smiths and writers in Southern England.
Gadshill, from the Three Crutches on the Gravesend - Rochester Road
Gipsy Encampment
Building a Wiltshire Waggon near Longleat (April 1941)
View of the Medway and part of Chatham from Frindsbury
Wheelwrights at work in Mr. J. W. Brunt's Shop, Newington
A view at Ridley
Yalding Bridge
Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury
Gamekeepers Cottage (The Warren House), Cuxton Valley
Glebe Farm, Fingest
Old House at Bulmer
Pigeon House and Post Office, Mansel Lacy
The Guest House, Cerne Abbas
Cottages on a high bank
A cottage and water-mill at Bignor
The Chequers Inn, Fingest
Landscape with road in flat country
Tithe Barn, Wyke, Nr. Sherborne
Houses on the Green, Calne
Farm at Bulmer Tye