Alexander Pope was an English poet who lived in Twickenham from 1719 until his death in 1744. By the third quarter of the 18th century, the Thames valley area round Twickenham, Syon and Richmond had acquired a literary reputation as England's 'classic ground' from the presence and publications of authors such as Alexander Pope. In the early 1760s, Wilson painted numerous English scenes, especially of the Thames Valley. They included Marble Hill House (see P89B View on the Thames near Twickenham, Marble Hill House, English Heritage), the gardens of which were laid out by Charles Bridgeman, aided by Alexander Pope, Syon House (see P88D Syon House from Richmond Gardens II - Evening, Private Collection) and Windsor, which was celebrated in verse in Alexander Pope's On Windsor Forest of 1713 (see P132 View of Windsor Forest, Anglesey Abbey National Trust).
