Two Hunters
George Stubbs 18th Century Mezzotint

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Two Hunters
Detail of Two Hunters
George Stubbs (1724-1806) (after)
George Townly Stubbs (1756-1815) (engraver)
Two Hunters
George Townly Stubbs, London: January 1792
Mezzotint with later hand color
13.25 x 18.25 inches, image
15.75 x 19.5 inches, overall
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A portrait of two horses in the English countryside by a large tree.  It is based on a painting by the preeminent British horse artist of the 18th century, George Stubbs.  The print shows bay and chestnut hunters belonging to Henry Urick Reay, and was published and engraved by Stubbs’s son, George Townly Stubbs with a dedication to Reay inscribed below the title.  George Townly Stubbs sold both ordinary impressions and color-printed impressions of this print.  Two Hunters is a pair to Stubbs’ Two Hacks  (Lennox-Boyd Item 94). The original oil painting is now in the South African National Gallery, Sir Abe Bailey Collection.

George Stubbs (1724-1806) was one of the greatest sporting artists of Georgian England.  He combined science and art by painting animals with anatomical precision.  After a visit to Rome and a period of residence in Liverpool, he returned to England in 1760.  He also drew horses based on dissections, and in 1766 published a monumental series of engravings, Anatomy of the Horse, which cemented his reputation as a master of the subject.  His vast body of work includes paintings of the prize horses of England of the late 18th century, often with their proud owners or trainers.  He also painted hunting scenes, and wild animals such as lions and tigers, including some with lions stalking horses.  Stubbs served as president of the Society of Artists in 1773 and though he had his quarrels with the Royal Academy, he exhibited there periodically and was elected as an Associate in 1780.  Many of his paintings are in the world’s major museums, with a large number represented in the Yale Center for British Art (Paul Mellon Collection).  Some of the greatest engravers and printers of the day were engaged to render Stubbs' animal pictures as prints, including William Woollett (1735-1785), and Stubbs’ son, the printmaker George Townly Stubbs (1756-1815)  (sometimes spelled “Townley”).

Inscription below image, with Reay’s coat of arms: “Two Hunters.  Belonging to Henry U. Reay of Burn Hall in the County of Durham, Esq’r. to whom this Plate is Dedicated by his much Obliged H’ble Ser. Geo. Townly Stubbs.  London Pubd. Jany. 1792 by Geo. Townly Stubbs No. 14 John Street Adelphi.”

References:

Lennox-Boyd, Christopher, et al. George Stubbs: The Complete Engraved Works. London: Stipple Publishing Limited, 1989.  Item 95, p. 229.

Maxted, Ian. "The London book trades 1775-1800: a preliminary checklist of members." Exeter Working Papers in British Book Trade History.  U.K.: Devon Library and Information Services. 24 January 2005.  http://www.devon.gov.uk/library/locstudy/bookhist/lonn.html (Orme) (6 April 2005).

Williamson, George C., ed. Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers.  London: G. Bell and Sons: 1930.  Vol. 5, pp. 139-140 (Stubbs).