Museum
Palmer's Farm
Description
Palmer's Farm (formerly believed to be Mary Arden's House), 1871
Oil on canvas
John Theobald Marshall (16th November 1849 - 1888)
A view of Palmer’s Farm from Station Road, Wilmcote. The building was originally believed to have been the childhood home of William Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden. Since, 2000 however it has been known as Palmer’s Farm. The painting depicts a working farm with figures in the foreground. It is signed by the artist using his monogram, JTM, in the bottom right corner.
John Theobald Marshall was a local artist born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1849. His father, John Marshall, was a wood carver and cabinet maker and the family lived on Chapel Street. His mother, Eliza, was described in the 1851 census as an upholstress suggesting a family-run furniture making business. John Theobald initially trained in wood carving under his father before establishing himself as an artist. He is known to have signed some of his work using a monogram of his three initials. He married local woman Eliza Kitchen in 1874 and the couple had a son, Francis, born around 1877. After their marriage the couple lived in West Street. John Theobald died in 1888 at the age of just 39. Eliza went on to marry another local artist, William Wells Quatremain, in 1895.