This painting is the first of two works by Ben Nicholson showing a cottage at Walton Wood near Bankshead in Cumbria. Even in this, an early work, Nicholson's interest in space, clarity and natural materials is evident. The underlying green colour seems to have been wiped on with a sponge or rag rather than applied with a brush, and suggests the circulation of cool air. The use of flat blocks of colour to structure the surface of the picture shows the influence of Cubism. Nicholson has adopted a deliberately naïve approach but there are also parallels with the simple compositions favoured by his artist father, William.