Lot 9, Joseph Maiden (British, 1813 – 1843), WARE HORSE, Oil on board, 10-1/2″ x 12″, Signed, Inscribed en verso, $4,000 – 6,000
Sunday, November 22, 2020 will mark the eighth annual Sporting Art Auction at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion—a cooperative venture between the world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house and its Lexington, Kentucky neighbor, Cross Gate Gallery, a leading source of the world’s finest sporting art.
Bids may be made online or by phone for works by highly regarded artists at estimated prices as low as $1,000—a charcoal sketch by Munnings, for example. The hammer will fall on many lovely hunting paintings in the $3,000 to $10,000 range. At the more rarified altitudes, an Andrew Wyeth painting might bring six figures, and several of LeRoy Neiman’s works are offered, one of which will surely fetch six figures. Be sure to see them when the online catalog becomes available.
This year’s offerings feature 188 lots covering a broad range of artistic media by masters long passed as well as by leading contemporary sporting artists of the day. Among the European artists represented are Peter Biegel, Lionel Edwards, John Emms, the numerous Herrings, Michael Lyne, Raoul Millais, Sir Alfred Munnings, Snaffles, and George Wright. American artists this year also include many who have previously appeared in these pages such as Clayton Bright, Herbert Haseltine, Juli Kirk, Booth Malone, Joanne Mehl, Sandra Oppegard, Andre Pater, Richard Stone Reeves, Heather St. Clair Davis, Henry Stull, Edward Troy, Franklin Voss, and Larry Wheeler.
Lot 65, John Sanderson Wells (British, 1872 – 1955), A MORNING GOSSIP, Oil on board, 16″ x 24″, Signed, $2,000 – 3,000
At the low end of the price range a nicely composed early twentieth-century British oil painting by John Sanderson Wells depicts Master and staff stopping with hounds momentarily to chat with a village woman in the road.
Lot 56, George Wright (British, 1860 – 1942), THE INN YARD, Oil on canvas, 14″ x 17″, Signed, $4,000 – 6.000
A charming turn of the twentieth century oil painting by British artist George Wright, shows huntsman and hounds still in the inn yard just about ready to hack to the meet. A stable boy is still busy watering horses, but a chambermaid on a second floor balcony has paused in her work to see the spectacle. Wright was one of the most accomplished equestrian artist of his times.
Lot 63, Lionel Edwards (British, 1878 – 1966), A COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S ASSISTANCE, Watercolor, 9″ x 23-1/2″, Signed and dated ‘05, $6,000 – 9,000
A Lionel Edwards watercolor tells a story of chivalry; a gentleman has forsaken the field to return a loose horse to a lady in side saddle habit who has just emerged dripping from the stream in which she was deposited. Edwards’ works are prodigious and include numerous books that he authored as well as iliustrating many others. He loved his hunting, and rode with nearly every pack in Britain.
Lot 64, George Denholm Armour (British, 1864 – 1949), MR. JORROCKS GOING OUT, watercolor/bodycolor on linen, 15″ x 12″, Signed, $3,000 – 5,000
Another early twentieth century watercolor by George Denholm Armour features the rotund John Jorrocks, one of our favorite foxhunting characters in all of literature. In his day, Armour painted illustrations for Punch and Country Life, studied military horsemanship at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, and became an honorary member of the Meadowbrook Polo Club on Long Island.
Lot 76, Juli Kirk (American, b. 1957), SECRETS, Oil on canvas, 30″ x 24″, Signed, $7.000 – 10,000
American contemporary artist Juli Kirk offers two lovely paintings of foxhounds in kennels. Her work, reminiscent of John Emms with his loose brushwork and limited pallet, provokes the warmth and natural peacefulness of foxhounds in the company of their mates.
Lot 58, Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe (British, 1901 – 1979), FOX FAMILY, MOTHER AND CUBS, Oil on canvas, 30″ x 25″, Signed, $7,000 – 9,000
And not to forget the fox, Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe offers a stylish, precise, and accurate rendering of a vixen and cubs at the entrance to their earth in a limited but beautifully detailed landscape.
In this year of Covid and as of this publication date, some procedural arrangements are yet to be finalized. A catalog will be available for on-screen viewing shortly. For information on viewing dates and location, bidding options, scheduling a private appointment, and all other questions, call 859-233-3856 or inquire by email.
Posted October 19, 2020