Frederick William Newton Whitehead was a lover of the English countryside. He lived in close connection with nature and as an observer and painter tried to record the uniqueness of the landscape for posterity. The love of art developed late in the English artist's life. Frederick began his professional career with an apprenticeship as a restorer, art dealer and gilder. His workshop as well as the business premises were housed in the family home. Whitehead sold the works of regional artists through his studio. Thomas Baker was among the painters who relied on the art dealer's sales skills. It was probably the artistic influence of Thomas Baker that grew the desire in Frederick to try his hand at painting himself. Whitehead took private lessons from renowned painters who were based in his home town. The painter's early work is characterized by the stylistic devices used by Thomas Baker. It was only as his artistic development matured that Whitehead took his cue from the landscapes of John Constable and later developed his own vision.

Whitehead had a close bond with his family. In particular, his relationship with his sister Elizabeth was close. Elizabeth had similar artistic ambitions to her brother. The Victorian era was an inauspicious time for women painters. Private tuition was unthinkable for young women. Art schools did not have mixed classes and separate courses for women were rarely offered. Fred and Elizabeth Whitehead went abroad together to study art. The French academies provided the Englishwoman with an artistic education. The brother and sister returned to England and embarked on an intensive creative journey to Dorset. In a caravan called "The Rambler" they travelled through the countryside. Together with two dogs and a small portable studio called "The Baby Elephant" they lived in the countryside and painted. Frederick loved painting under the open sky with its changing light and atmospheres.

It was in Dorset that Whitehead met the writer Thomas Hardy and a deep friendship developed which lasted until the end of the artist's life. Hardy's writings greatly influenced the painter and changed his perception of nature. The painter began to look at landscapes through the eyes of the writer. Whitehead took this step deliberately. More and more often his paintings were accompanied by quotations from Thomas Hardy's works. Art critics called Whitehead the first Impressionist to exhibit art that specifically referenced Hardy's Wessex. Whitehead's close association with Hardy went so far that he would read his friend's description of the landscape in the evening and create a landscape painting the next day. The published works were released to the public by close agreement between the two friends. The friendly symbiosis of art and literature was commercially successful. Such a close connection between real places, Hardy's words and Whitehead's paintings is probably unique in the history of English art.