Victorian Oil Painting Melton Bay Hunter Race Horse Jockey Fred Archer Up

Victorian Sporting Portrait of Melton with Fred Archer by F. S. Evans, 1885

A superb late Victorian sporting oil on canvas by the British artist F. S. Evans, signed and dated 1885, depicting the celebrated Thoroughbred Melton with the legendary Champion Jockey Fred Archer mounted. Painted during Melton's remarkable Derby and St Leger-winning season, this is an important and highly decorative example of nineteenth-century British sporting art.

Executed with exceptional attention to detail, Melton is portrayed standing in elegant side profile before the Norfolk landscape surrounding Lord Hastings' Melton Constable estate. Evans demonstrates an accomplished understanding of equine anatomy, beautifully capturing the horse's powerful form, lustrous bay coat and refined proportions. Archer is depicted wearing his distinctive racing colours, while the expansive landscape and dramatic sky provide a wonderfully balanced composition.

The painting belongs to the great British sporting tradition established by artists including George Stubbs, Benjamin Marshall, John Frederick Herring Sr. and Harry Hall. A closely related portrait of Melton by F. S. Evans is held in the National Trust Collection at Seaton Delaval Hall.

Presented in its original late Victorian gilt moulded frame beneath protective glass, the painting has excellent scale and would make a striking statement in both traditional and contemporary interiors.

Provenance is particularly strong, having come from the distinguished estate of Stafford Ellerman (1928–2022). It was subsequently sold as Lot 1178 in Ewbank's Silver & Fine Art Auction, Surrey, on 21 March 2024. The reverse bears the original trade stamp of Percy Young, 137 Gower Street, London, noted supplier of artists' materials to the Slade School of Art.

Dimensions:
Height: 81 cm
Width: 99 cm
Depth: 2.5 cm

Condition:
Presented in fine antique condition. The canvas displays attractive age-related craquelure together with light foxing and minor surface wear consistent with its age. Colours remain rich and well preserved. The original gilt frame has expected age-related wear but remains structurally sound and highly decorative.

An elegant and historically significant Victorian sporting painting combining outstanding decorative appeal with excellent provenance, making it equally suitable for the sporting art collector or the refined country house interior.

Curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD.