It was worked up from a detailed sepia drawing of the late Shoreham period. Through dawn breaking, with its multicoloured sky and the joyful sound of the skylark, Palmer suggests a new beginning. The shepherd opening the gate through which the lamb will pass into the broad landscape may symbolize the start of life.

Provenance

Lord Justice Sir William Rann Kennedy; Mrs Robinson; J.W.Knight; Mrs H.F.Medicott; Sold Fine Art Society, bt. Mrs F.E.Leigh; Sidney Leigh.