An Overshot Mill in Wales (Aberdulais)

James Ward painted this view of an overshot mill in Wales at Aberdulais in 1847, late in his long career as one of Britain's leading animal and landscape painters. Ward's Welsh landscapes combine precise observation of industrial and agricultural subjects with the Romantic sensibility for picturesque scenery. The watermill at Aberdulais, powered by the Dulais River, had been painted by Turner decades earlier.

Ward renders the mill and its waterfall setting with careful attention to the engineering of the wheel and the natural forms of the surrounding landscape. The warm palette and detailed handling show his lifelong commitment to precise naturalistic observation.