This picture belongs to a genre which had short-lived popularity in England in the 1720s, that of the musical party in the open air with an elegant landscape or park in the background. The influence on such pictures came from similar developments in French painting especially the work of Lancret and Pater (qq.v.). Such subject matter was entirely new in English painting which had hitherto had been confined to portraiture. The artist’s most popular subject was a panoramic view of Covent Garden market. He executed several versions of the Covent Garden composition and there are examples in the Government Art Collection and the Museum of London.

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