Harry Becker’s great passion was to paint the working life of rural Suffolk. In particular he captured farmworkers at their daily tasks ploughing, ditching, hoeing and leading horses in the first decades of the twentieth century. This large-format illustrated biography shows the wide range of his work.
Becker was formally trained and had experience working as a artist in London and on the Continent. Like other impressionists of the period, he stated his aim as being to capture ‘the true light of day’. He shared the ideals of Van Gogh, immersing himself in his rural surroundings, going out to the Suffolk fields to depict the working life around him. And, like Van Gogh, he remained largely unknown in his lifetime. However, a contemporary reviewer described his paintings and lithographs as ‘impressionism at its best ... there is a living power in this artist which very few can approach today, full of sincerity and significance.’
Author David Thompson, who was art critic of The Times for seven years and later Director of the ICA in London, has written extensively on contemporary art and art history.