After my foray into the world of art criticism (don't give up your day job, friends told me!) this caught my eye.
'A Prize Ewe' by the Victorian animal painter Richard Whitford (1854-1887) is for sale at the Hanover Square Gallery.
It's an oil on canvas (do I sound as if I know what I'm talking about here?), measures 14ins by 18ins and is of a Suffolk sheep. It's signed and dated 1878.
Whitford's paintings included the Great Northamptonshire Shorthorn, Quicksilver - a prize winning horse - and A Prize Cow.
"It is a superb collector's painting of its kind - something which will provide great enjoyment and be an heirloom to pass on", said a spokesman for the gallery.
They reckon it might appeal to sheep breeders and could be the answer to finding a very special Christmas present for a loved one.
I thought about it, then saw the price tag: six grand!
You can get more information at this email address.
Is there such a thing as an heirloom that you DON'T pass on? (Urggh - pedantry just slipped out. Sorry).
I had a very sheepy birthday card, which is an copy of Hilary Paynter's Sheep Show, exhibited in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2006. I would love to have the original hanging on my wall.
www.artmatters.org.uk/galleries/hp/pages/DSCF2345.htm
Hi Mopsa,
You don't need to apologise to me for a bit of grammatical pedantry, I need keeping on my toes!
Just checked out the sheep pictures... they're super, aren't they.
Tim
I am researching the life and work of Richard Whitford and his son Harry Sheldon Whitford [see http://www.sheldons.org.uk]. They are my great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather respectively. I’d welcome any information, however apparently trivial, about the life and work of either of them. All information welcome.
I am researching the life and work of Richard Whitford and his son Harry Sheldon Whitford [see http://www.sheldons.org.uk]. They are my great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather respectively. I’d welcome any information, however apparently trivial, about the life and work of either of them. All information welcome.
I am researching the life and work of Richard Whitford and his son Harry Sheldon Whitford [see www.sheldons.org.uk]. They are my great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather respectively. I’d welcome any information, however apparently trivial, about the life and work of either of them. All information welcome.