Antique English Lurcher Portrait In A Country Landscape

Antique English Lurcher Portrait In A Country Landscape, Signed J. Warnes c.1910

Early 20th Century British Sporting Animal Oil Painting With G. Rowney & Co. Canvas Mark

Highlights

* Fine antique British sporting animal portrait of a prized lurcher or greyhound-type dog.
* British School, early 20th century, circa 1910.
* Signed “J. Warnes” lower right.
* Oil on canvas.
* Depicts a chestnut-and-white lurcher standing proudly within an English rural landscape.
* In the tradition of celebrated British animal painter Samuel John Carter (1835–1892).
* Reverse bears a G. Rowney & Co., London, “Quality F” prepared-canvas stencil.
* Quality F canvas is documented from 1892 onwards and is consistent with the proposed early 20th-century date.
* Provenance associated with the collection at Lime House, Earls Colne, Essex.
* Presented in a later decorative Larson-Juhl gilt frame.
* Attractive compact display size, measuring 44.5 cm wide overall.

Introduction

A characterful early 20th-century British sporting portrait depicting a prized lurcher standing within an atmospheric English country landscape.

Painted in oil on canvas and signed “J. Warnes” lower right, the work dates provisionally to circa 1910 and belongs to the long tradition of British sporting and animal portraiture.

The lurcher is shown almost in full side profile, standing alert upon a country pathway surrounded by tall summer grasses. Its head turns towards the viewer, creating an engaging direct gaze and bringing considerable individual character to the portrait.

The dog's chestnut and creamy-white coat contrasts beautifully against the rich greens of the foreground, distant golden fields and softly clouded blue-grey sky.

With its traditional sporting subject, intimate proportions and decorative gilt frame, the painting has particular appeal for a country-house, library, study or collected interior.

Catalogue Details

Artist: Signed “J. Warnes”, identity presently unverified

School: British School

Title: Portrait Of A Lurcher In An English Landscape

Date: Circa 1910, provisional, early 20th century

Medium: Oil on canvas

Signature: Signed “J. Warnes” lower right

Support: G. Rowney & Co., London, Quality F prepared canvas

Subject: Lurcher or greyhound-type dog in an English rural landscape

Art-Historical Context: In the tradition of Samuel John Carter and late Victorian and Edwardian British sporting animal portraiture

Frame: Later decorative Larson-Juhl gilt frame

Catalogue Note

Of particular interest is the surviving G. Rowney & Co., London, “Quality F” stencil to the reverse of the canvas.

Research into British artists' suppliers records Quality F prepared canvas from 1892 onwards, with the material well established during the opening decades of the 20th century.

The manufacturer's mark therefore provides useful independent evidence consistent with the painting's proposed circa 1910 dating.

The work is catalogued as British School and signed “J. Warnes”. The identity of this painter has not presently been established with sufficient documentary certainty to assign a formal biography.

The composition nevertheless sits comfortably within the British tradition of sporting and animal painting associated with Samuel John Carter (1835–1892), who became particularly renowned for his accomplished depictions of animals, dogs, horses and sporting subjects.

The Lurcher

The lurcher occupies a distinctive place within British sporting and rural history.

Traditionally produced by crossing a sighthound, such as a greyhound, with another working type, lurchers became prized for their speed, intelligence, stamina and versatility.

Their long association with the British countryside, hunting and historically with poaching gave the lurcher a particularly evocative position within rural culture.

These elegant working dogs consequently became natural subjects for the sporting artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Samuel John Carter

Samuel John Carter (1835–1892) was a respected British animal and sporting painter and illustrator.

Born at Swaffham, Norfolk, Carter developed a particular expertise in animal anatomy and became known for paintings of dogs, horses, deer, wildlife and sporting subjects.

He was principal animal illustrator for the Illustrated London News from 1867 until 1889 and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy.

Carter was also the father of archaeologist Howard Carter, whose discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 became one of the defining archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

The present painting is not attributed directly to Samuel John Carter. Rather, its sporting subject and presentation place it within the wider British animal-painting tradition with which Carter was closely associated.

Provenance

Stated to have formed part of the collection at Lime House, Earls Colne, Essex, associated with the late Colonel Peter Charles Edward Fishbourne (1940–2023).

Subsequently in the collection of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

The Fishbourne association with Lime House is supported by independent public records, although item-specific estate documentation for this particular painting has not presently been identified.

Dimensions

Frame:

Height: 34.5 cm

Width: 44.5 cm

Depth: 4 cm

Condition Report

Offered in fine used antique condition.

The canvas displays age-related craquelure together with yellowing and discolouration to the existing varnish.

Scattered pale surface spotting and accretions are present, the precise nature of which has not been established.

Historic localised paint retouching and small repairs to the reverse of the canvas are reported.

The later handmade decorative Larson-Juhl gilt frame displays minor imperfections and wear consistent with its construction and use.

Please review all supplied photographs as they form an integral part of the condition report.

Shipping

Worldwide shipping is available.

The painting will be professionally packed with particular attention given to protecting the canvas and decorative frame during transit.

Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution

Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD® will provide a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution describing the work as British School, early 20th century, signed “J. Warnes” lower right, Portrait Of A Lurcher In An English Landscape, circa 1910, oil on canvas, bearing a G. Rowney & Co., London, Quality F prepared-canvas stencil.

Attribution and Research

The attribution, dating and art-historical interpretation have been prepared in good faith following examination of the available visual, technical and documentary evidence.

The artist's identity remains presently unverified. “In the tradition of Samuel John Carter” is an art-historical contextual description and does not constitute an attribution to Carter or indicate that the work is a direct copy of a known Carter composition.

Further technical or documentary research may refine the attribution or dating.

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