Robert Spear Dunning (1829-1905), Lived/active: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

The Ford, Pemigewasset Valley.
Holderness, New Hampshire.
Signed and dated (l.r.): R.S. Dunning, 1898. Also signed, dated and titled on verso.
Oil on canvas, in a period carved gilt frame. 20 ¼”x 30 ¼” (sight).
Over-all in excellent condition, no signs of in-painting or restoration.
The scene depicts farmers harvesting and transporting hay with an ox-driven wagon across a stream in summer. Although Dunning was best known for his lush still life paintings, his genre and landscape painting are executed with the same exceptional quality to detail and perspective. This rare subject matter is further identified giving us a glimpse of rural life in Holderness, New Hampshire during the late 19th century.