Born 23 March 1844 in London, Farrer was the younger brother of Thomas, a well-known pre-raphaelite painter. Unlike Thomas, Henry was largely self-taught.
In his late 20s, his landscape work shifted to the tonalist style for which he is best remembered. He was a co-founder of the American Watercolor Society and, unusually for the time, painted almost exclusively in water colours. His tonalist landscapes often depict a misty or cloudy landscape with water in the foreground, and the sun is often setting. The overall effect is one of stillness and the subdued, earthy colors give his works a meditative mood.
This is: Winter scene in Moonlight