The Rothensteins moved from London to Great Bardfield, a small village in Essex, in 1941 where they became part of a vibrant community of artists that included Eric Ravillious, Edward Bawden and Kenneth Rowntree amongst others. These artists shared a common interest in portraying English village life. Here, Rothenstein's composition, with its beautifully textured surface combines a mix of modernism, surrealism and traditional watercolour techniques. He introduces a subtly suggestive imagery in to this seemingly simple depiction of the countryside idyl through his focus on the industrial plough:

'I saw a plough as a metaphor of machinery cutting up the field, the conflict between the living landscape and the encroaching machine' (The Artist quoted in Tessa Sidey, 'The Prints of Michael Rothenstein', 1993).