Although McGregor had no formal art training, his work was influenced by the artists and rural subject matter that he encountered on trips to France and Holland. McGregor was one of a group of artists based around the village of East Linton, who were interested in capturing a changing way of life in the countryside. Old rural traditions were gradually being superseded by modern mechanized farming methods and the bonds between people and the land were starting to break down. This study shows a young farm girl with her milk pail lightly sketched in behind her. She wears wooden clogs or sabots, traditionally associated with peasants in Holland, but also worn by farm workers in the north of England and Scotland.