SELECT FINE ART

This important sporting artist is best remembered for his sensitive portrayal of farmyard scenes in the English countryside.  He also painted hunting and racing scenes.  Born into a family of artists, John Frederick Herring was the son of John Frederick Herring, Snr. (1795-1865) who held the official title of Animal Painter to H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent.   Being exposed to fine painting and wealthy patrons, Herring developed a passion for painting at an early age and was greatly influenced by his father as can be seen in his depiction of agricultural, farmyard and steeplechasing scenes.  He stated that to be a good painter of horses, one had to be “brought up in the stable”.  Herring exhibited at the Royal Academy with titles including: The Farm-Autumn (1863), Farm Yard (1864), Watering the Team (1866), Horses Feeding (1867), The Homestead (1871).  He also exhibited at the Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street with 53 works and at the British Institution.  His paintings are included in the collection of the Tate Gallery and Watford Museum.John Frederick Herring had extraordinary dedication to his work and his style shows a great suavity of brushwork.  When viewing his farmyard paintings, one is aware of the precise detailing of all the animals and surrounding countryside.  He romanticizes it and draws the viewer into the landscape - everywhere there is fresh straw, charming ducks chasing and dancing after their ducklings, doves  cooing atop the thatched roof cottages and a little dog guarding and enjoying the tranquil beauty of the English countryside.This important and exceptional example of Herring’s work is presented in pristine condition in an original period frame and is signed by the artist.

An American artist who was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts on December 31, 1896, Aiden Lassell Ripley received his formal art training at the Fenway School of Illustration and also at the Boston Museum School of Art where he studied under Philip Hale, Edmund Tarbell, and Frank W. Benson.  Early in the 1930s, Ripley embarked upon his series of magnificent sporting paintings for which he is most admired, earning him the reputation of being one of America's foremost painters of upland shooting scenes.   Having exhibited at major societies throughout the United States, Ripley was elected a member of the National Academy of Design, the American Society of Watercolour Painters, the National Society of Mural Painters, and the Guild of Boston Artists, of which he was president from 1957 to 1968.   Examples of his work may be seen in museums, including the Boston Museum of Fine Art, Chicago Art Institute, High Museum in Atlanta.  A retrospective exhibition was sponsored by the Guild of Boston Artists in 1970.  Pheasant Country depicts a man pheasant hunting on a late autumn New England day, as he awaits a flushing of birds by his two Springer spaniels.

Considered to be one of the most accomplished sporting painters spanning the 19th and 20th centuries, Heywood Hardy was born in Bristol, England in 1843.  He received his formal art training in London, Paris and Antwerp, and he was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Society of Etchers and an Associate of the Royal Water Colour Society.  He exhibited at the Royal Academy and also at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Fine Art Society, Manchester City Art Gallery, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and the Tooling Galleries. On viewing this superb example, one is aware of how the horses and dog are beautifully depicted, demonstrating a thorough knowledge of animal anatomy.

Considered to be one of the most accomplished sporting painters spanning the 19th and 20th centuries, Heywood Hardy was born in Bristol, England in 1843.  He received his formal art training in London, Paris and Antwerp, and he was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Society of Etchers and an Associate of the Royal Water Colour Society.  He exhibited at the Royal Academy and also at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, Fine Art Society, Manchester City Art Gallery, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and the Tooling Galleries. His work shows a special sensitivity to the hunt and its natural surroundings, original and delightful, yet strong and well finished. Avidly sought after, hunting scenes dating from the Victorian period have become very scarce.  

Born into an artistic family, George Garrard was an important English Sporting painter, descended from Marcus Garrard, who painted for Queen Elisabeth 1.  He received his formal art training at the Royal Academy Schools and studied with the noted horse painter Sawrey Gilpin RA FSA (1733-1807).  Garrard specialised in horse portraiture and animal subjects, which were often depicted in a classical landscape setting. Garrard was recognized as a superb horse painter, and he painted numerous commissions from wealthy patrons and landed gentry, who wanted portraits of their favourite hunters or racehorses. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1781 and 1826, and also at the British Institution.   Over the next twenty years, his horse paintings were of a very high quality, many of them comparable to those of Stubbs, whose influence often showed more strongly in his work than that of his teacher Sawrey Gilpin.  It is interesting to note that Garrard was commissioned by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales to paint many of his beloved horses, along with The Dukes of Hamilton, Argyll and Bedford who were also patrons.   George Garrard’s paintings are beautifully detailed, showing a masterful technique and understanding of horse anatomy.  Few of his paintings seem to have survived, and so Sir Charles Turner’s  'Beningborough' is important both as a rarity and a superb example of the best of 18th century English sporting painting.   This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1796.

ARTHUR D. FULLER
1889-1966
Setters on Point
Date: 1935
 Framed Size: 37.5 inches by 45 inches 

 This American sporting artist is best remembered for his hunting and fishing scenes. He  was born in Exeter, New Hampshire in 1889.  After graduating from Harvard, he received his formal art training at the Fenway School of Illustration and the Chicago Academy of Fine Art.  He also studied with the noted illustrator Harvey Dunn.  Fuller embarked on his career as an illustrator for Greenbook, and he was a contributor to all the major magazines of the period including:  The Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, The American Legion, Redbook and McCall’s. An avid sportsman all of his life, in 1928 Fuller began illustrating hunting and fishing stories for Field and Stream, where he regularly contributed for his entire career.  His detailed covers and story illustrations for Field and Stream won him the admiration of the magazine’s keen eyed and critical readers for many years.  Hunting and fishing scenes were by far the most satisfying to him as an artist. Fuller was a member of the Salmagundi Club, Animal Artists Society, Westport Artists, Silvermine Guild and Society of Illustrators in New York. His work is represented in the permanent collect of the Brandywine River Museum and Yale University Art Gallery.  Setters on Point is a superb example of his work, depicting two hunters with their dogs in the field.

Thomas Bretland was born on the 21^st April 1802 in Nottingham.  Although he liked to sketch and wanted to study art from an early age, in 1816, he was apprenticed to his father’s business of coach and carriage painting.  It was a job at which he excelled, but did not like. In 1828, around the time that he became a partner in the family business, he married Nancy Ingham who brought with her a considerable dowry.  He also embarked upon his artistic career and began to paint animal portraits and to receive commissions.  In 1840, upon the death of his father, Bretland turned the family business over to his brother and with the encouragement of his most important patron, Lord Middleton, he turned to painting animal portraits full time.  Bretland was soon recognized as a superb horse painter and numerous commissions were to follow.  Other patrons included the Dukes of Buccleuch and Montrose, Lord Chesterfield and Baron Rothchild. After his wife died in 1843, he continued to maintain the family home in Sneinton, but travelled to Ireland, Scotland and various areas of England.  Many of his paintings from this period are inscribed “Sneinton”.  When he married again in 1854, he moved with his second wife, Emma, back to Nottingham and being highly respected by his neighbors, became a burgher of the city. Thomas Bretland worked mainly in oils, painting hunting scenes and landscapes, but it is for his horse paintings that he is best remembered.  His horse portraits were of very high quality, many of them showing the influence of, important sporting art painter, John Ferneley, SNR (1782-1860), his close neighbor. Examples of Bretland’s paintings may be seen in the Nottingham Art Gallery.

One of the finest English sporting painters, William Woodhouse was born on the 1^st of October 1857 at Poulton-le Sands, England.  He received his formal art training at the Lancaster School of Art.  After having completed his studies, he exhibited widely in London, including the Royal Academy between 1889 and 1896, and also at the Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Scottish Academy, Manchester City Art Gallery, Birmingham City Art Gallery, etc.  Along with his sporting paintings, Woodhouse also painted birds, animals and landscapes.  A Good Day's Hunting is a wonderful example of Woodhouse's work, original and attentive to detail, capturing the integrity of the hunting dog to true perfection.  It epitomizes the very best of his work. 

WILLIAM WOODHOUSE
1857 - 1935
A Good Day's Shoot
Date: circa 1890
Framed Size:  16.5 inches by 20 inches

One of the finest English sporting painters, William Woodhouse was born on the 1^st of October 1857 at Poulton-le Sands, England.  He received his formal art training at the Lancaster School of Art.  After having completed his studies, he exhibited widely in London, including the Royal Academy between 1889 and 1896, and also at the Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Scottish Academy, Manchester City Art Gallery, Birmingham City Art Gallery, etc.  Along with his sporting paintings, Woodhouse also painted birds, animals and landscapes.  He is best known for his gun dog portraits.  In 1927, the Harris Museum and Art Gallery in Preston held an exhibition of over 70 works by Woodhouse and in 1939 held a memorial exhibition of 89 paintings, including many watercolours, a medium in which Woodhouse was extremely accomplished.  His work is original and spontaneous, yet his attention to detail perfectly captures the personality of the hunting dogs.  It is a wonderful example of the artist's work.

Born into a family of standing, John Boultbee was an accomplished sporting artist in the 18^th century.  In 1770, he moved to London and received painting instruction from Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792).  He also studied with Sawrey Gilpin (1762-1808), and was often commissioned to paint the same horses, including “High Flyer (engraved in Sporting Magazine, 1821), “Sir Peter Teazle”, (exhibited Liverpool Academy, 1812), and “Gulliver” (unfinished).  Boultbee exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1776 and 1788 with titles such as: “Pensoroso, a stallion, the property of T.W. Coke, Esq.” 1783;  “Portraits of Two Horses” 1787; “Portrait of a favourite horse of Mr. Bakewell” 1788.  His painting “Robert Bakewell” was purchased for the nation in 1987, and it is on display in Room 18 at the National Portrait Gallery. On examining his work, one plainly sees John Boultbee’s profound ability to capture the horse’s anatomy with beautiful detail and sensitivity.  The influence of George Stubbs (1724-1806) is apparent, particularly in the handling of the trees and in the fullness and strength of the portrayal of his horses.  Few of his paintings have survived and so this superb example of his work is important both for its rarity and as an example of the best of 18^th century English sporting painting.  It is presented in pristine condition.

Renowned for his wonderful portraits of dogs, Siegwald Johannes Dahl was born in Dresden on 16^th August 1827 and died on 15^th June 1902.  He received his initial art training from his father, Johan-Christian-Clausen Dahl (1788-1857), the noted Norwegian landscape and animal painter.  Dahl also studied in Norway, Paris and London.  It is interesting to note the influence of Sir Edwin Landseer’s work in this painting, not only because of the subject matter, but also because of the attention to detail.  Both artists were superb draughts men and anatomists capable of painting animals with vigor and true insight.  Dahl excelled in capturing the personality of these dogs, portraying them with great sensitivity which only the most accomplished artists could achieve.