Autumn Fields, Knowlton 1941

Prudence Heward's "Autumn Fields, Knowlton" presents a landscape rendered with thick brushstrokes and a rich palette of autumnal colours. The composition is divided into distinct planes, creating a structured yet abstracted view of nature. Notice how the foreground, with its fence and small building, leads the eye towards the middle ground of rolling fields. These fields transition into a dense band of trees in fiery oranges and reds against the cool blues and whites of the sky. Heward's technique emphasizes materiality. The impasto application of paint gives the surface a tactile quality, highlighting the physical act of painting itself. This approach is reminiscent of post-impressionist explorations of form and color, challenging traditional landscape conventions by focusing on the emotional and sensory experience of the scene. The painting challenges a singular viewpoint, asking us to consider how the act of seeing is mediated through layers of texture and color. The work invites a conversation about how we perceive and represent the world around us.