Although born and raised in France, Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley (1839–1899) was in fact from an English family and retained links with his ancestral homeland all his life. In 1874 - after his participation in the first Impressionist Exhibition in Paris - Sisley enjoyed a summer break in London, where he painted lively studies of life and leisure along the Thames River, while fellow colleagues including Monet and Pissarro conducted similar studies in Paris and along the Seine. When Sisley traveled to Wales in 1897, principally to marry his long-term partner, he was enthralled by the dramatic scenery he encountered along the South Wales coastline. The pictures he produced from this trip were among his most free and boldly painted works.

Bringing together the beautiful paintings that Sisley created in England and Wales for the first time, Sisley in England and Wales provides an introduction to the artist and examines the impact his connection with these two countries had on his career as a French Impressionist.

Christopher Riopelle is Curator of Post-1800 Painting at the National Gallery, London. He is author of Manet to Picasso and Tim Gardner and coauthor of Renoir Landscapes, all distributed by Yale. Ann Sumner is director of the Barber Institute of Fine Art, Birmingham.