Trees at Douglas Hall

In 1915, Samuel Peploe returned from France to live in Scotland with his family as war on the continent made life more unpredictable, and his health was considered too poor for conscription. Whilst in Scotland he painted a small series of landscapes around Douglas Hall, Kirkcudbright, Laggan and Dalbeattie in the south-west of the country, and a popular destination for artists. In these landscapes, Peploe experimented with a much earthier and natural palate, drier paint on the canvas and a more structural approach to composition.