Faed, Thomas “Sunday in the Back Woods of Canada”

Thomas Faed.  “Sunday in the Back Woods of Canada”. 

London: Henry Graves, 1863.  22 x 31.  Engraving by W. H. Simmons.  Hand color.  Signed in pencil by colorist G. Summer Lane most likely 20^th century.  Blind stamp at bottom: “Harry Graves and Co. Publishers HOO”.  Narrow margins top and sides.  Scattered foxing in margins with some minor water stains just into image at right.  Else, good condition.  A/A

This painting is the second in a triptych depicting the plight of Scottish immigrants in Canada by the popular Victorian artist Thomas Faed. Although Faed himself never travelled to North America, in the mid-nineteenth century his cousins the M’Geochs left their farm in Kirkcudbrightshire to settle in Canada. The painting’s lack of references to a specifically Canadian landscape is offset by allusions to Scotland, such as the pot of heather in the window and the portrait of the poet Robert Burns on the door.