This charming mid-19th-century oil painting by British artist Joseph Dunn (1806-1860) depicts a bay hunter in a landscape. Dunn was an accomplished painter of equestrian subjects.
Standing proudly with head turned partially to glance directly at the viewer, this imposing stallion is a steed of merit. He knows these rolling hills - keen to gallop through ample pasture, leap across ditches, and soar majestically above hedgerows. He’s bonded with his owner, obedient yet muscular.
Dunn was born in Yardley, formerly part of Worcestershire, and little is known of his early years. His father, William Dunn, was a coachman and it’s conceivable that he introduced the young lad to a coach painter who provided an apprenticeship. Coach painting was a common route into an artistic career as it primed a fledgling artist with the basic skills of mixing colours etc.
By 1831, he’d moved to Warwick and was plying his trade for the local landed gentry. Artists who specialised in horse portraiture and hunting scenes tended to work exclusively for the aristocracy rather than via dealers or exhibitions. It was a case of ‘who you knew’ and recommendations were vital.
It appears he moved several times, first to Abergavenny, Wales, next to Clifton in Gloucestershire, and finally to Kings Norton (also formerly part of Worcestershire). His time in King’s Norton led to the moniker of Joseph Dunn of Worcestershire, although today it’s technically part of Birmingham.
Stylistically, his attention to musculature, strong light effects, and ability to capture the spirit of a horse, bring comparisons with the work of John E. Ferneley (1782-1860).
Signed in the lower right and held in a 19th-century gilt frame with rocaille centres and corners, which is probably original.
Learn more about Joseph Dunn in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 30½” x 26½” / 77cm x 67cm
Year of creation: c. 1850
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Revarnished. Faint stretcher marks. Craquelure throughout. The paint layer is stable. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £5,000 for ‘A Dragoon Officer With His Horse (1855)’, Oil on canvas, Christie’s, Selected Watercolours and Oil Paintings, Billingshurst, 26 October 1993 (lot 148).
Our reference: BRV2111
