Sporting Art, Wildlife & Dogs | A Post Sale Review

These archetypal Georgian sporting oils were not a true pair - painted 17 years apart (in 1798 and 1815) both decided a similar subject - but were offered together by a client who had recently inherited them. Despite considerable restoration, they sold on their quality to a trade buyer at £16,900.

^{Sold £16,900 - John Nost Sartorius (1759-1828) 'On the scent', oil on canvas 91 x 127cm, unframed; and 'A hunt in full cry', oil on canvas, 90.5 x 128cm, unframed}

Other major names included Archibald Thorburn and John Frederick Herring Snr (1795-1865). Thorburn’s watercolour of a mountain hare in winter coat was a version of a picture that appears as plate 35 of the second volume of his book 'British Mammals'. Presumably, it was painted at the request of a client who particularly liked the image in the book. It made £7,540 while sold at £6,370 was a beautiful oil on board by Herring, signed and dated 1852, of a mallard drake with two white ducks and their ducklings.

^{Sold £7,540 - Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) A mountain hare signed 'A Thorburn' l.l., watercolour 19.5 x 22.5cm}

Specialist Jane Oakley said demand for the 338 lots “continued a trend we have seen through lockdown, that has done much to focus demand among private and trade buyers alike”.

A high price was achieved for a work attributed to the little-known artist Charles Dickinson Langley (1799-1873) with the much admired oil of a grey racehorse and a pointer juxtaposed together in a landscape sold at £5,330. Competitive bidding resulted in a price of £4,420 for a small oil by Vincent de Vos (1829-1875) depicting circus dogs and monkeys at rest - a composition the Belgian artist painted on several occasions.

^{Sold £5,330 - Attributed to Charles Dickinson Langley (1799-1873) A grey and pointer in a landscape oil on canvas 50.5 x 61cm}

Sculpture made a significant contribution to the sale total this time with the top lot going to a pair of life-size rutting stags cast in bronze with a variegated red-brown patination by John Cox (1952-2014). The pair sold to a continental bidder for £19,500.

^{Sold £19,500 - John Cox (1952-2014) A pair of red deer stags bronze with a variegated red-brown patination 260cm long, 110cm high, and 234cm long 107cm high (2)}

all prices shown include fees 

For more information about the sale, or to discuss consignment to a future Sporting Art, Wildlife and Dogs auction, please contact: 

Jane Oakley 
janeoakley@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778