Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema produced the original oil painting ‘94 Degrees in the Shade’ in 1876: Today it is part of the permanent exhibition at the Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum in the United Kingdom. One can only describe the scene as captivating and while it encourages the viewer to create a ‘story’ it does this without dictation: Indeed, this is an easy on the eye oil painting.

The picture depicts a young Sir Henry Thompson laid down reading a book in a cornfield situated upon the outskirts of Godstone in Surrey – Sir Henry Thompson donated this oil painting to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1920. Although the face of Sir Henry is shaded by his hat the viewer can tell that this is a young boy – Sir Henry was in fact seventeen.

The reproduction oil painting offered captures the incredible depth of color and brushwork of the original. Indeed, the colors of the original oil painting are incredible – The grass a hay bales created using a delicate blend of green and yellow tones and tints which have been applied with a single brushstroke: Capturing and dispersing the light of this beautiful English summer’s day beautifully. Unquestionably 94 Degrees in the Shade is a beautiful oil painting that would bring warmth and interest to any room.