Richard Ansdell, RA

(British, 1815-1885)

The Forester's Pets

Footnotes

Provenance
Property of a Lady of Title.

Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, 1878, no. 520.

In the present lot, we see Richard Ansdell painting within a genre in which he felt totally at home. This lovely painting has all the hallmarks of a considered piece for inclusion in the Royal Academy exhibition of 1878. Victorian Academicians of the day relied heavily on the annual exhibition which was a popular means for them to attract sponsors and purchasers and enabling them to keep up the momentum of being of a successful 'modern' artist. The all-important decision for each of their paintings was whether they were hung above the line, below the line or on the line. Every artist aimed to get their paintings as near to the line (or at eye level) as possible.

Presented in a gilded Victorian exhibition frame, The Forester's Pets was painted at the height of Ansdell's career and seven years after he became a Royal Academician. There is no hidden message or underlying brutality, and the work is sensitively portrayed with the confidence of an artist sure of his technique and subject matter. It is a joyous painting, amalgamating many of the elements used successfully during this period of Ansdell's career. Here we see his trademark cerulean blue sky, complete with the iconic circling birds and the light, slightly misty clouds which could either bring rain or sunshine to the Scottish landscape. The lock below is calm and the surrounding hills benign. The central figure is silhouetted against the sky, a dramatic effect of which Ansdell was particularly fond: she is a favoured red-haired model who appeared in other major canvases. This is a romantic depiction of a young girl feeding a herd of deer hinds which couldn't fail to please. Closer inspection of the beautifully proportioned animals and the meticulous detail in the flora will delight. The tri-coloured collie dog was one of Ansdell's own pets which appeared in many of his paintings – the artist often found an excuse to include his beloved dog.

We are grateful to Sarah Jane de Montezuma Kellam, great, great granddaughter to Richard Ansdell, for her assistance in cataloguing this lot. See www.richardansdell.co.uk for more details.