Sawley Abbey

Francis Seymour Haden

"Sawley Abbey" is illustrated on page 428 of The Print Collector's Quarterly, October, 1911. Sawley Abbey stands by the Ribble, a noted salmon stream. At the point depicted by Haden the stream enlarges into a pool, a location much favored by Haden for fishing.

A handful of lines, light-handed and airy, suggests a peaceful afternoon on a stretch of quiet farmland. Francis Seymour Haden barely touches the plate yet fully communicates a scene of familiar bucolic serenity, where the line between humankind and nature is no longer so evident.

The Ribble stream, one of the artist’s favorite spots for salmon fishing, lazily wanders past lounging sheep toward the viewer, and a cluster of structures sits along its banks in the distance.