Homer Watson was one of Canada’s most celebrated artists in the late nineteenth century. His paintings demonstrate the influences of the American Hudson River School and the British landscape painter John Constable.Born in Doon, Ontario, the son of a mill and factory owner, Watson was largely self-taught. He was an artistic prodigy who won early acclaim in Toronto in the 1870s and 1880s. In 1886, British recognition of his work at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London, England, furthered a successful career as a painter of Canadian landscapes. By the turn of the century, Watson had achieved considerable national and international success. In 1907, he became the founding President of the Canadian Art Club, and served as President of the Royal Canadian Academy in 1918. Landscape with Sheep and Wheatfield is a significant early work. It demonstrates his affection for the rural countryside of his native Doon, and a meticulous attention to detail in his brushwork. Nostalgia for rural subjects during an era of urbanization attracted widespread Canadian patronage for Watson.