Possibly Thomas Stothard RA, Medieval Boar Hunting Scene–early C19th ink drawing

Possibly Thomas Stothard RA Medieval Boar Hunting Scene

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View the full Collection: Equestrian Collection: Loraine-Smith & Charles Cooper Henderson

An original early 19th-century pen & ink drawing, Possibly Thomas Stothard RA, Medieval Boar Hunting Scene.

This fine line illustration has a possible attribution of Thomas Stothard RA (1755–1834).

On laid paper laid down on backing paper.

Provenance: William Drummond (Covent Garden Gallery, London).

Thomas Stothard RA (1755–1834) thad a successful career as a painter, illustrator, commercial artist and designer, and he was much in demand in the London publishing industry.

Born in London, the son of a prosperous inn-keeper, from childhood he exhibited a talent for drawing and painting. He was apprenticed to a commercial draughtsman of patterns for brocaded silks in Spitalfields, but during his leisure time he created illustrations for his favourite poems. In 1777 he entered the Royal Academy Schools, where he began long-term friendships with John Flaxman and William Blake.

His work came to the attention of James Harrison, the editor of the Novelist's Magazine (1780 to 1788), and when Stothard's master died, he switched to a career in art, working closely with engraver James Heath on the magazine—so beginning his prolific career as a book illustrator. He illustrated some of the most well-loved books of the day, including the stories of Ossian, Burns, Chaucer and Defoe.

Although book illustration was to be Stothard's most lucrative and steady income, he also made oil paintings and undertook some decorative work, including designs for Buckingham Palace, the grand staircase of Burghley House, and the cupola of the upper hall of the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. He was elected associate of the Royal Academy in 1792 and full academician in 1794. In 1812 he was appointed librarian to the Academy after serving as assistant for two years, a position he held until his death in 1834.

Equestrian Collection: Loraine-Smith & Charles Cooper Henderson

This work is one of a fascinating collection of equestrian pictures we have for sale connected with two highly regarded horse painters: Charles Loraine-Smith (1751–1835), a keen horseman known for his early hunting and sporting scenes; and Charles Cooper Henderson (1803–1877), the preeminent painter of Victorian horses and coaches. Both artists were instrumental in developing the genre of horse painting, and achieved fame and popularity through print reproductions after their work. At a time when animal painting was seen as a ‘lower’ form of art, these artists were pioneering in establishing the respectability and status of the genre.

The collection includes signed works by both these artists, as well a number of interesting works by other members of the Loraine-Smith family: Charles’s son, Reverend Loraine Loraine-Smith (1784–1857), and daughter-in-law, Isabella—who were both keen horse-riders, and produced personal studies of horses and hunting subjects under Charles’s influence.

This collection also includes horse pictures by other notable names, such as Jules Léon Montigny, Henry Thomas Alken, Anthony Devis and Frank L. Emanuel.

The story behind why these equestrian pictures have come together is a mystery, but it is possible that the collection was at one time owned by Charles Cooper Henderson. Our collection includes a watercolour by William James Müller—and, interestingly, Charles’s brother, the distinguished art collector John Henderson, was an avid collector of Müller’s works. Together, these pictures, spanning the late 18th into the early 19th century, show the ever increasing British obsession with all things equine.