The scenery on the River Frome at Stapleton inspired this painting but it also tells a story.

One of the children has been sent to peel potatoes but they have been left in the basket in the foreground. The knife brought to peel them is on the steps and the children have instead carved a sailing boat. The artist omitted the sky, which gives an intimacy to the scene and its sensitive depiction of the self-contained world of childhood. 

Francis Danby ARA (1793-1861) was an Irish painter of the Romantic era. His imaginative, dramatic landscapes were comparable to those of John Martin. Danby initially developed his imaginative style while he was the central figure in a group of artists who have come to be known as the Bristol School.