Charles Bilger Spalding A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable 1843 British Sporting Oil
Charles Bilger Spalding A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable 1843 British Sporting Oil
Signed Early Victorian Equestrian Portrait by Royal Academy Exhibitor Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871)
Highlights
• Original signed and dated 1843 oil painting by Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871)
• A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable
• Early Victorian British equestrian and sporting subject
• Mature chestnut hunter portrayed at rest within its stable
• Painted during an early documented period of Spalding’s career
• First exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840
• Professional association with S. & J. Fuller sporting publications
• Spalding’s sporting oeuvre represented in British public collections
• Documented provenance through Mallams, Oxford
• Canvas 53 cm wide × 41 cm high
• Framed 66.5 cm wide × 54 cm high × 2.5 cm deep
• Later decorative gilt moulded frame
• A historically engaging painting for collectors of British sporting, equestrian and Victorian art
Introduction
A characterful signed and dated 1843 equestrian oil painting by British sporting artist Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871), presenting a mature chestnut hunter standing quietly within the atmospheric surroundings of its stable.
The painting belongs to the long British tradition of treating important horses as individual portrait subjects. Spalding avoids the narrative excitement of riders, hounds and open countryside, instead concentrating upon the animal itself.
The hunter’s richly coloured chestnut coat forms the visual centre of the work. Warm russet and mahogany passages are carefully modelled against the softer ochres, creams and greys of the stable interior.
The horse’s alert eye gives the otherwise tranquil composition a subtle sense of personality.
Signed and dated 1843, the work was painted close to the beginning of Spalding’s documented exhibition career and was later offered through Mallams, Oxford.
Catalogue Details
Artist: Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871)
Title: A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable
Date: 1843
School: British
Period: Early Victorian / mid-19th century
Medium: Oil on canvas
Signature: Signed
Date inscription: Dated 1843
Subject: Chestnut hunter standing at rest within a stable
Canvas: 53 cm wide × 41 cm high
Frame: Later decorative gilt moulded frame
Catalogue Note
Spalding gives the horse an imposing but composed presence.
Shown almost completely in profile, the animal extends across much of the canvas, its body carefully articulated through changes in warm colour and light.
Highlights define the neck and shoulder before travelling across the barrel and hindquarters. Darker tones establish the mane, tail and shadowed underside.
The stable provides a contrasting environment of subdued colour and broader handling.
Rather than recording every architectural detail, Spalding allows the background to remain atmospheric, strengthening the visual prominence of the horse.
Across the foreground, scattered straw is indicated through lively strokes of ochre, cream and brown.
The work consequently operates both as a sporting picture and as an individual portrait of a horse observed within its familiar environment.
The Chestnut Hunter and Stable Setting
The subject is best described as a mature chestnut hunter.
Its developed physique and balanced sporting proportions are consistent with the type of horse traditionally associated with nineteenth-century British hunting and country pursuits.
The available documentary evidence does not presently establish the horse’s name, precise breed or historic owner.
Likewise, no secure identification of the stable has been discovered.
The catalogue therefore avoids assigning unsupported identities while recognising the clear sporting character of the animal.
The stable setting is nevertheless important. By showing the horse privately rather than in action, Spalding emphasises its individuality.
Colour and Technique
The painting is executed in oil on canvas.
Warm chestnut, mahogany and russet dominate the horse, complemented by quieter ochres, umbers, creams and greys throughout the stable.
Spalding concentrates his most controlled modelling upon the animal.
Carefully positioned highlights describe its musculature and create a convincing impression of light reflecting from the coat.
The background is handled more broadly, creating an atmospheric setting without competing for attention.
The resulting balance gives the painting both descriptive clarity and considerable decorative warmth.
Dating the Painting
The painting is dated 1843.
Mallams, Oxford, catalogued the work as A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable, signed and dated 1843.
This date places the painting only three years after Spalding’s first recorded Royal Academy exhibition in 1840.
It therefore belongs to the early phase of his documented professional career and to a period in which equestrian and sporting imagery was already established within his work.
Early Victorian Sporting Art
The individual horse portrait formed an important strand of British sporting art.
Valued hunters, racehorses and riding horses could be commemorated through paintings that recorded their appearance and character independently of the sporting events in which they participated.
A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable belongs naturally to this tradition.
Its restraint is particularly effective.
With no rider, pack of hounds or extensive landscape to compete for attention, the horse becomes the undisputed subject of the painting.
The Artist
Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871) was a British painter specialising in sporting and country scenes.
University of the Arts London records that he first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840.
Spalding also worked for S. & J. Fuller, important London publishers associated with sporting imagery, contributing a portrait of Satirist, winner of the 1841 St Leger.
His documented subjects encompass horses, hounds, hunting scenes and other aspects of nineteenth-century country life.
Royal Academy Exhibition History
Spalding’s Royal Academy activity provides an important chronological framework for the present painting.
His first recorded exhibition took place in 1840.
A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable is dated 1843 and therefore belongs to the early years of this documented exhibition career.
Spalding is appropriately described as a Royal Academy exhibitor. The available evidence does not establish his election as a Royal Academician, and the post-nominal letters RA are therefore not used.
Sporting Publications and S. & J. Fuller
Spalding’s association with S. & J. Fuller demonstrates that his equestrian imagery reached audiences through sporting publishing as well as original paintings.
The firm was prominent within the nineteenth-century market for racing, hunting and equestrian prints.
Spalding’s documented portrait of Satirist, the 1841 St Leger winner, provides particularly relevant evidence of his involvement with horses immediately before the present work was painted.
Museum Collections
Spalding’s sporting oeuvre is represented within British public collections.
The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, holds A Huntsman with His Horse and a Group of Hounds.
That work presents a broader sporting narrative involving horse, rider and hounds.
The present painting provides an intimate counterpart, concentrating entirely upon the individual horse.
Comparable Works
Spalding’s documented sporting paintings reveal sustained engagement with equestrian subjects.
The Meet of the Hambledon Hounds at Preshaw House, Hampshire, the Seat of Walter Long in 1844 is particularly relevant chronologically.
Painted only one year after A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable, the substantial composition demonstrates how Spalding moved between intimate animal portraiture and ambitious hunting narratives during the same period.
Collecting History
Spalding’s sporting paintings have appeared through established auction houses and specialist British picture sales.
His documented market includes individual horses, hounds, huntsmen and large-scale hunting compositions.
These records demonstrate continuing collector interest in the artist.
Differences in subject, scale, condition and provenance mean that individual auction results should be understood as market context rather than direct valuation comparisons.
Signature and Date
The painting is signed and dated.
Mallams catalogued the date as 1843.
The surviving inscription, documented auction attribution, equestrian subject and relationship with Spalding’s known sporting oeuvre collectively support the present catalogue identification.
The individual identity of the horse has not presently been established through documentary evidence.
Provenance
Private collection, United Kingdom.
Mallams, Oxford; Affordable Art – Timed, January 2025; catalogued as Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871), A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable, signed and dated 1843, oil on canvas.
Acquired by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, 2025.
Original Mallams purchase documentation retained.
Dimensions
Framed:
Width: 66.5 cm
Height: 54 cm
Depth: 2.5 cm
Approximately 26.2 × 21.3 × 1 inches.
Canvas:
Width: 53 cm
Height: 41 cm
Approximately 20.9 × 16.1 inches.
Frame
Presented in a later decorative gilt moulded frame.
The scrolling and foliate ornament provides a sympathetic traditional setting for the early Victorian equestrian subject.
The frame is not represented as original to the painting.
Minor marks, rubbing and surface variations are present consistent with manufacture, handling and use.
Condition Report
The painting is offered in country-house condition commensurate with its age.
The canvas appears to retain an older, apparently unlined presentation based upon the available visual examination and photographs.
There is widespread age-related craquelure throughout the painted surface, together with scattered staining, surface wear, abrasion, small areas of paint loss and evidence of historic retouching or previous intervention.
Stretcher-bar lines / impressions are visible through the painted surface.
The stable background displays areas of age-related discolouration and surface marking.
The darker passages of the horse also show craquelure and wear, although its principal modelling, warm chestnut colouring and anatomical detail remain clearly legible.
The later decorative gilt frame displays minor marks, rubbing and imperfections consistent with handling and use.
Please examine the extensive close-up photographs carefully, as these form an integral part of the condition description.
Collecting Interest
This signed and dated 1843 equestrian portrait combines several characteristics of interest to collectors of nineteenth-century British sporting art.
Its identified artist, early Victorian date, Royal Academy exhibition context, classic horse subject and documented Mallams provenance provide a strong historical framework.
The quiet stable setting also distinguishes it from Spalding’s larger hunting compositions, presenting the horse as an individual subject worthy of portraiture.
Its moderate scale and warm palette make it equally effective as a scholarly collecting piece and as a distinctive work within a traditional or layered interior.
Shipping
Worldwide shipping is available.
Owing to the historic framed presentation of the artwork, it will be professionally packaged using appropriate protective materials and dispatched fully insured.
International buyers are welcome. Please contact us for a destination-specific delivery quotation or to discuss any particular shipping requirements.
Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, exhibition history and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.
Attribution and Research
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis, dating and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available physical evidence, historic inscriptions, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance, identity of the horse, stable location or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.
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