Market Day, Masham, North Yorkshire

A market and manufacturing town near Ripon, close to the Yorkshire Dales, Masham was prominent in the local wool trade in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Ibbetson first visited the town in 1803, before settling there permanently with his family in 1804. He painted the town’s market on a number of occasions.

The handling and subtle colouring of the painting display a deep knowledge of earlier Dutch masters, such as Berchem and Wouwerman.