A Country Woman Returning from Market in 1764

by Thomas Jefferys

This intriguing print depicts a transient scene in an English countryside setting. A lone female is depicted carrying loads of the daily business on her way through a winding road connecting the busy market place to the privacy of home.

As a skilled cartographer, Thomas Jefferys brings his expertise of mapmaking into play in this work. The wrinkles in the garments of the woman, along with the goods carried in her baskets, make a documentary of the economic life of the countryside in the 18th century. In this work, there is a contrast in the heavy physical task of the "Country Woman," and the peaceful rolling hills in the background.