Victorian Sporting Harmony Strawberry Roan Gentleman’s Hunter with Terrier Circle of John Sargent Noble c1885

🎩 Victorian Sporting Masterpiece Painting Harmony: Strawberry Roan Gentleman’s Hunter with Terrier — Circle of John Sargent Noble (c.1885)

🎨 Oil on canvas, this evocative Victorian equestrian interior presents a poised strawberry roan gentleman’s hunterstanding with serene authority within a timber stable, accompanied by a spirited terrier seated attentively at its feet 🐴🐶. Bathed in the warm, amber light of the stable, the scene evokes the quiet intimacy of pre-hunt preparation or post-ride repose. The rare strawberry roan coat is rendered with sensitivity, reinforcing the horse’s individuality and refined sporting associations. The terrier’s presence symbolizes loyalty, companionship, and the gentlemanly sporting culture of late 19th-century Britain.

✍️ Composition & Technique

The composition is carefully balanced:
📍 The hunter commands central dominance with upright grace
📍 The terrier introduces emotional warmth and narrative connection
📍 The stable interior, painted in umbers, ochres, and straw tones, provides an atmospheric backdrop

Stylistic features strongly associated with John Sargeant Noble include:
🖌 Terrier treatment: Bristly impasto strokes with pinpoint eye highlights — a Noble hallmark
🖌 Horse contours: Slightly darkened topline along neck and back for firm structural definition
🖌 Interior rendering: Loose boarding and sketch-like shadowing typical of Noble’s stable scenes
🖌 Hooves & shadows: Softened, blocky hooves with diffused elongated shadows
🖌 Impasto vitality: Highlighted shoulders and flanks catching stable light
🖌 Emotional contrast: Calm equine nobility versus the terrier’s lively alertness — a narrative trademark

✨ The result is a painting of temperament, companionship, and quiet rural dignity.

👨🎨 Attribution

Circle of John Sargent Noble (British, 1831–1909)
Noble was a celebrated Victorian equine painter known for emotionally resonant depictions of horses, hounds, and stable life. Originally catalogued within the circle of Edwin Frederick Holt, this painting was reattributed in 2025 following stylistic comparison with Noble’s terrier handling, contouring, palette, and equestrian interiors.

🔍 Unsigned; attribution based on detailed stylistic analysis.

🖼 Frame

Presented in an ornate Victorian gilt frame with acanthus scrolling and classical moulding.
📉 Displays expected wear: rubbed gilt, cracking, minor losses, areas of overpaint
✅ Structurally sound and visually sympathetic

📏 Framed Dimensions: 67 cm (H) × 81 cm (W) × 7 cm (D)

📚 Provenance & Exhibition History

📍 Private equine collection
📍 Notable Yorkshire auction house
📍 Curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD
📍 Canvas Stamp (verso): Brodie & Middleton, 79 Long Acre, London
🛠 Professionally conserved in 2025

🎪 Exhibited:
The Sporting Tradition: British Equestrian and Animal Painting 1850–1900
Famous Lord Hill Museum, Shropshire, England 

💎 Why Collectors Will Love It

✅ Quintessential Victorian stable scene steeped in authenticity
✅ Rare and desirable strawberry roan subject
✅ Terrier adds narrative charm and emotional resonance
✅ Strong stylistic link to John Sargent Noble
✅ Warm palette ideal for country house or sporting interiors
✅ Exhibition history, conservation & provenance support value
✅ A refined acquisition for collectors of British sporting art 

🛡 Condition Report (2025)

🧴 Lascaux consolidation
🧼 Surface cleaned (5% Tri-Ammonium Citrate)
🧽 Varnish removed (Acetone / Stoddard Solvent)
🩹 Losses filled (Mowiol G4-88 + whiting)
🎨 Retouched (Paraloid B72 pigments)
✨ Final MS2A varnish applied
🪡 Canvas re-tensioned; keys secured

✅ Current State: Good — restored to museum display standard.