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The Old Surrey and Burstow Foxhounds
Art
Hunting scene with a pack of hunting dogs in foreground and in center. Shown in profile is Master of the Hunt, Tom Hills riding Lounger. In the center right, his brother Morris Hills shown on Paddy. On the left, son Peckham Hills on Factor facing right. All riders wear knee length red (pink) frock coats with brass buttons going down coat front with black collars. All wear black and tan riding boots, white breeches, tan gloves, black peaked riding hats and carry riding crops. Each horse is harnessed with red strap across forehead. Scene is set on open heath with trees in distance. Riders are profiled against a blue and grey sky with clouds as background. Artist has naïve sense of prospectus. Realistic, smoothly painted with no visible texture.
41
Oil on Canvas
John L. Wehle Collection
Barraud, William, 1810-1850
Artist
Barraud, Henry, 1811-1874
Artist
1838
English
British
Signature
Lower left
W. & H. Barraud 1838
English
Painted
Image Size
41-3/4 in
51 in
Frame Size
41-3/4 in
51 in
Hanging Height
Hanging height based on 60" Hanging height 75"
Frame
Wood frame, matching frame on #5. Concave and convex molding with a ball molding around picture
Hills, Thomas
Hills, Peckham
Hills, Morris
Cultural/Historical Context
Notes: The Old Surrey and Burstow Foxhounds, signed and dated 1, shows three members of the Hills family, ready to hunt, surrounded by twenty-one hounds and one terrier, all accurately portrayed. In the center of this portrait, the celebrated Surrey huntsman Tom Hills is pictured on his horse Lounger. He became huntsman in 1816 at the age of twenty and remained in that position, with a break of only three years, until 1861. To his left is Morris Hills on Paddy; to his right is Peckham Hills seated on Factor. Brothers William and Henry worked together to create clear, simply composed paintings of equestrian sports. Tutored by artist Abraham Cooper, elder brother William excelled in painting horses and dogs while younger brother Henry, having studied portraiture, painted figures and landscapes. Fox hunting is a sport popular then in both England and the united States. Even city dwellers could participate by subscribing to a hunting club, such as the Old Surrey hunt which had merged with the Burstow hunt by the time Tom Hills, shown in the center, commissioned this painting of himself and his sons. In 1999, The Old Surrey Burstow Hunt merged with the West Kent Hunt and is still active today.