About this lot

Description

Portrait of Mr H O Backhouse, Master of Hounds, on a bay hunter, with his pack of hounds oil on canvas 100 x 126 cm

Footnote: Provenance: By descent within the family of the sitter Literature: Wellington Journal and Shrewsbury News, 29th October 1881, p. 7 The presentation of this portrait to Mr H O Backhouse on 21st October 1881 was an important local event, which was celebrated by a dinner held at the Rose & Crown Hotel, Burford, with more than 160 gentlemen present. It was captured in vivid detail in the local newspaper the following week - on 29th October 1881. The portrait depicts Mr Backhouse, the master of the harriers in the Tenbury district, mounted on his favourite hunter, ‘Tommy’, surrounded by three couples of hounds and a terrier. The hounds represented are Countess, Beauty, Glory, Cheerful, Jester and Little Sam. The landscape behind the sitter depicts local scenery introducing a small portion of the Clee Hill. The painting is reported in the local newspapers to have come out of the studio of 'Mr Laing, Castle St, Shrewsbury', who is recorded as a photographer active in Shrewsbury in the 1880s.

Condition report: Oil on canvas which is unlined. There are some slight undulations in the corners of the canvas but overall the picture has good tension and is in plane. The paint layer has localised areas of flaking with small scattered losses. There is an uneven surface texture in the thinner paint passages as well as drying cracks, mainly located around the hounds. The varnish has yellowed and is unevenly applied with localised glossy patches. There is a thick layer of surface dirt present. The moulding on the frame has suffered losses.

Back to lot listings