Going to the Hayfield 1853

David Cox made this watercolor painting, ‘Going to the Hayfield,’ sometime in the first half of the 19th century. In it, a man on horseback travels across a broad, flat landscape under a dramatic sky. The English landscape tradition was closely tied to national identity, and paintings of rural life often idealized the countryside as a respite from industrialization. Cox, however, lived and worked in Birmingham, an industrial center, and developed a more modern style that reflected his surroundings. His landscapes are less polished, more raw, and often feature dark and stormy skies, reflecting a changing social and economic reality. The figure on horseback could be seen as a nostalgic symbol, but also seems diminished by the sheer scale of the landscape, a reflection of the artist’s progressive politics. By studying paintings like this, along with archival sources and social histories, we can better understand the changing role of landscape art in reflecting and shaping attitudes towards the industrial revolution.