Painting Boxing Day Badsworth Hunt 1943 signed by George Anderson Short

George Anderson Short, The Badsworth Hunt on Foot, Easingwold, 1943

A Signed Wartime Watercolour Recording Yorkshire Sporting Life

British Sporting Art from the Final Years of Short’s Career

Highlights

• Original signed watercolour by George Anderson Short.

• Painted and dated 1943 during the Second World War.

• Depicts followers and foxhounds assembled on foot in a winter landscape.

• Titled “The Badsworth Hunt on Foot” on the reverse.

• An unusually late work painted when Short was in his late eighties.

• Subtle winter palette and carefully observed hounds.

• Documented appearance at Golding Young’s Lincoln Fine Art Sale in 2023.

• Subsequently included in two curated exhibitions.

• Presented in a new Larson-Juhl gold-leaf frame.

• Conservation mounting and AR70 protective glazing.

Introduction

The Badsworth Hunt on Foot is a contemplative sporting watercolour painted by George Anderson Short in 1943.

Set against an open winter landscape, the work depicts members of the hunt gathered with their hounds. The usual drama of mounted pursuit is absent. Instead, Short concentrates upon the orderly arrangement of figures, the alert movement of the foxhounds and the still atmosphere of a Yorkshire winter morning.

Painted during the Second World War and close to the end of Short’s career, the scene possesses both artistic and documentary interest. It records a rural gathering at a time when established patterns of British life were being reshaped by wartime conditions.

Catalogue Details

Artist: George Anderson Short.

Dates: 1856–1945.

Title: The Badsworth Hunt on Foot, Easingwold.

Date: 1943.

Medium: Watercolour on paper.

Subject: Hunt followers and foxhounds gathered on foot.

Classification: British sporting and hunting art.

Signature: “G. A. Short 1943,” lower right.

Inscription: Titled “The Badsworth Hunt on Foot” on the reverse.

Current presentation: Larson-Juhl gold-leaf moulded frame with conservation mount and AR70 glass.

Catalogue Note

Short gives the gathering a calm and deliberate rhythm.

Figures and hounds are distributed across the foreground without crowding, allowing the winter landscape to remain an essential part of the composition. The animals are individually observed through economical touches of the brush, while the figures are sufficiently detailed to convey posture, dress and social interaction.

The palette is dominated by subdued ochres, cool greys, brown and wintry blue. These restrained colours unify the scene and create the impression of clear, cold air.

Rather than presenting hunting as spectacle, Short records its quieter communal dimension: people and animals assembled within a familiar landscape.

A Yorkshire Sporting Record

The reverse title identifies the subject as The Badsworth Hunt on Foot.

The Badsworth was an established Yorkshire foxhound pack with historic kennels at Thorpe Audlin, near Pontefract. Its country encompassed areas of West and South Yorkshire before its eventual merger with the Bramham Moor Hunt.

Later catalogue information associates the scene with Easingwold, a Boxing Day gathering, Major Vernon Hugh Gamester and Joint Master Charles Lyon.

These additional details give the work a compelling historical context, although the verso title itself records only the Badsworth Hunt and the fact that the gathering proceeded on foot.

Britain in 1943

By 1943, Britain had experienced almost four years of war.

Rural communities were affected by military service, agricultural demands, rationing, transport limitations and widespread economic restrictions. Established sporting activities necessarily adapted to these circumstances.

The painting’s title is therefore particularly evocative. Short’s assembled followers and hounds suggest the continuation of a familiar communal ritual in an altered form.

The work can be appreciated as both a sporting picture and a social document: a visual record of regional identity during a period of national upheaval.

George Anderson Short

George Anderson Short was born in Kirkharle, Northumberland, in 1856 and later became closely associated with Yorkshire.

After moving with his family to Halifax, he worked as a carpet designer at Dean Clough Mills. He subsequently lived at Snaith before returning to Halifax during the late 1920s.

Short was a prolific painter in oils and watercolours. His subjects included hunting scenes, gamekeepers, working horses, wild birds, gypsies, local markets and the agricultural landscape.

His sporting pictures are admired for their close observation and regional character. Horses, foxhounds and country people are treated as familiar elements of rural life rather than theatrical accessories.

Signed in 1943, the present watercolour was painted when Short was approximately eighty-seven years old. It demonstrates the continuing clarity of his observation during the closing years of his career.

Composition and Technique

The watercolour is executed through transparent washes reinforced by fine linear brushwork.

Short uses comparatively few colours but achieves convincing spatial depth through subtle changes in tone. Pale areas of paper contribute to the cold luminosity of the sky, while darker touches define hounds, clothing and hedgerows.

The open arrangement prevents the composition from becoming static. The animals’ varied poses introduce movement, while the upright figures provide visual stability.

This balance between controlled design and direct observation is characteristic of Short’s mature sporting watercolours.

Signature and Documentary History

The lower-right corner is signed and dated “G. A. Short 1943.”

The reverse is titled “The Badsworth Hunt on Foot.”

An auction record documents the painting’s appearance at the Lincoln Fine Art Sale conducted by Golding Young in February 2023. Its signature, date, verso title and auction history provide a coherent basis for the present catalogue identification.

Conservation Framing

The painting has been recently reframed in a Larson-Juhl gold-leaf moulding.

Its warm finish complements the ochre, brown and muted green tones within the watercolour. A white conservation-grade mount with a narrow gold border provides a clean separation between the painting and frame.

AR70 low-reflection glass offers excellent viewing clarity while reducing glare and providing UV protection.

The complete presentation is suitable for a study, library, entrance hall or collection of British sporting and wartime art.

Provenance

Private collection, Yorkshire.

Lincoln Fine Art Sale, Golding Young, February 2023.

Titled on the reverse “The Badsworth Hunt on Foot.”

Exhibited with Nottinghamshire Dandy and Fine Interiors, curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

Catalogue number 47 in “Fields in Waiting: Rural Traditions During Wartime.”

Privately loaned and exhibited at the Famous Lord Hill Museum, Shropshire, Autumn 2025.

Dimensions

Framed width: 58.5 cm / approximately 23 inches.

Framed height: 48.5 cm / approximately 19.1 inches.

Framed depth: 3.5 cm / approximately 1.4 inches.

Measurements are approximate.

Condition Report

The watercolour is in very good overall condition.

Its painted surface remains clean and stable, with bright and evenly preserved colours.

Minor foxing marks are present within the upper sky. These are consistent with the age and paper medium and remain relatively unobtrusive.

No significant tears, major losses or active deterioration have been reported.

The painting has been newly mounted using acid-free conservation materials. Its Larson-Juhl frame, mount and AR70 glazing are in pristine presentation condition.

The accompanying photographs provide the fullest visual record of condition and should be examined carefully.

Shipping

Worldwide shipping is available.

The framed artwork will be professionally packed, fully insured and dispatched using an appropriate tracked service. Particular protection will be provided for the glazing, frame and watercolour.

Additional photographs, condition information and individual shipping quotations are available upon request.

Attribution & Research Notice

The attribution, dating, subject identification, provenance research and historical interpretation contained within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

The artist and date are supported by the visible signature “G. A. Short 1943,” while the title The Badsworth Hunt on Foot is recorded on the reverse. The expanded association with Easingwold, Boxing Day and the named hunt officials follows the available catalogue history and may benefit from further archival confirmation.

As with all works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.

Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®

Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.

Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and more than two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit accompanied by transparent provenance research, detailed catalogue descriptions and professional, client-focused service.

Additional photographs and further information are available upon request.