The artist was born in Barnstaple, Devon and joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1818. He lived in Kent for a while before returning to Devon in the 1840s, having been elected a Royal Academician in 1838. Nature was his enduring inspiration and he enjoyed considerable commercial success in his own lifetime. The extensive use of gum arabic by the artist in this work creates the effect of an intense greenwood which makes an interesting comparison with the oils on paper in this catalogue.

Lee collaborated with contemporaries such as Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) and Thomas Sidney Cooper (1803-1902), providing the backgrounds for paintings in which they painted the figures or animals.

Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire is an historic area of largely beech and oak woodland which has been regularly pollarded, with many trees which are several hundreds of years old. An area of outstanding natural beauty, the woods were popular with nineteenth century artists.