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Camille Pissarro, 'Fox Hill, Upper Norwood', 1870

About the work

Overview

This is one of 12 surviving pictures that Camille Pissarro made while in self-imposed exile in south London from late 1870 to mid-1871 during the Franco-Prussian war. Perhaps the first picture he painted while in London, it is one of the more rural scenes of the group and is similar to landscapes he had been painting near his home to the west of Paris.

It’s still possible to identify the site today – the road at Fox Hill retains its slight bend. However, Pissarro was perhaps more interested in the atmospheric effects of the light and weather than in precise topography, and the painting may have been first exhibited in London with the title Effet de neige (Snow Effect).

The picture has the appearance of having been painted quickly on site in the open air, as Pissarro worked rapidly and energetically, but it was completed in several stages.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Fox Hill, Upper Norwood
Artist dates
1830 - 1903
Date made
1870
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
35.3 × 45.7 cm
Inscription summary
Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit
Presented by Viscount and Viscountess Radcliffe, 1964
Inventory number
NG6351
Location
Room 41
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
20th-century Replica Frame

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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