This enchanting view with the white flash of sails in the distance is more than likely a view in North Norfolk on the stretch of coast between Brancaster and Burnham Overy Staithe.

Sir John Alfred Arnesby Brown (1866-1955) was born in Nottingham and began his studies there under Andrew MacCallum. He went on to study under Sir Hubert von Herkomer at his renowned Art School in Bushey which was to produce a generation of "British Impressionists" including Algernon Talmage and Lucy Kemp-Welch.

He had significant success and recognition in his own lifetime. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and had two paintings purchased by the Chantry Bequest. He was fortunate enough to spend winters in St Ives and summers in Norfolk and in 1910 took a house in Chelsea. A retrospective of his work was held at the Norwich Castle Museum in 1935. He was married to a fellow painter, Mia Edwards  who was known for her paintings of children. He died in 1955 at his house in Haddiscoe, Norfolk, an area of East Norfolk that features in many of his paintings.

Membership/ Exhibited: R.A. (elected an associate in 1903), Leicester Galleries, Venice Biennale