Benjamin Williams Leader, R.A. 1831-1923

A Quiet Pool in Glenfalloch is a rare work by Leader, painted during an early period in his life when his landscape painting was enriched by the same qualities which are to be found in contemporary Pre-Raphaelite art. The paintings produced in the late 1850s are certainly the most interesting of all Leader's landscapes and have a sense of light and colour which was lost in his later work. His paintings have the same qualities which can be found in almost contemporary work by John Brett whose Val d’Aosta was painted in 1858, William Inchbold and to a lesser extent John Everett Millais’ Scottish landscapes The Waterfall and his famous portrait of John Ruskin both of 1853.

The history of A Quiet Pool at Glen Falloch is described by Frank Lewis thus, '... that Autumn (1857) he went to Scotland and the wild beauty of Glen Falloch greatly impressed him. He brought home with him a picture, 'A Quiet Pool', exhibited at the R.A. 1859, and now took fresh pleasure in the open moorlands which revealed itself in the simpler freedom of his brushwork.' (Frank Lewis, Benjamin Williams Leader R.A. 1831-1923, 1971, pp. 12-13)

It was around 1857 that Benjamin Williams made the decision to change his name, having become frustrated by the confusion caused by the similarity of his name to that of many artists exhibiting in the various exhibitions in London. He adopted his father's second name of Leader and became known as Benjamin Leader.  It was perhaps feelings of guilt at having dropped his family name that led Leader to rethink his name in 1858, finally choosing the name Benjamin Williams Leader. 'The twenty-five years from 1857 were very important for our artist. During this period he made every effort to establish himself as a professional landscape artist. This included obtaining official recognition on the walls of the most important public forum and testing ground for nineteenth century British artists - The Royal Academy. Changing his name was the first decisive step in his bid for fame.' (Ruth Wood, Benjamin Williams Leader RA 1831-1923, His Life and Paintings, 1998, pg. 22)

Leader exhibited his first paintings at the Royal Academy in 1857, one of which entitled A Stream from the Hills was of a similar subject to the present work painted only two years later. A Stream from the Hills earned the honour of being praised in Academy Notes by John Ruskin, who would never again mention Leader's work. This painting was also admired by Tom Taylor writing in The Times '... it rises to impressiveness by the solemn light and shadow of the hills then round in the glen from which the stream leaps out on its downward journey...' (ibid. pg. 22). This description could also be applied to A Quiet Pool in Glenfalloch and the success of this painting appears to have urged Leader to explore a similar subject in the later picture. Before 1857 Leader had painted landscape no higher than the Malvern Hills and the experience of painting majestic mountains and babbling burns in Scotland in 1857 led Leader to the decision to devote himself to landscape painting entirely.

By 1859 when Leader exhibited A Quiet Pool at Glen Falloch, he was already attracting much attention for his landscapes. That year his The Rocky Bed of a Mountain Burn was bought by a prominent Worcester collector and MP, A.C. Sheriff, A Sketch on A Common was bought by the artist Alfred Elmore and A Quiet Pool at Glenfalloch was bought by the architectural artist David Roberts.