The yew garden, Arley

No other painter has left a more complete, more accurate or more enchanting record of the English country house garden in the years from the late Victorian era to the 1920s than George Samuel Elgood. This watercolour was inspired by his visit to Arley Court in Cheshire. It was included in his first exhibition, 'A summer among flowers', at the Fine Art Society in London in 1891. Elgood revelled in painting the tiered, sculptural forms of topiary which here provide the setting for a lone peacock – regarded a most suitable denizen of the formal garden. The iron gate has been deliberately placed to the right of centre, affording us a glimpse of the herbaceous border and yew hedge behind.