Early Scottish Impressionist Oil Masterpiece Friesian Cow Grazing Signed George Smith RSA Scottish, 1870–1934
🖼️ Early Scottish Impressionist Oil Masterpiece Title “Friesian Cow Grazing” by George Smith RSA (Scottish, 1870–1934)
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🐄 Subject and Medium
A beautifully observed portrait of a black-and-white Friesian cow grazing in a farm field—calm, authentic, and full of rural character.
Medium: Oil on panel/board, glazed with a front protective glass cover.
Colour notes: rich blue-black passages in the cow’s coat with creamy whites and warm umber/chestnut tones, set against a landscape of sage and olive greens, straw yellows, and soft grey-blue hues that create atmosphere and depth.
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🖌️ Composition & Technique
Smith keeps the composition wonderfully direct: the cow’s body forms a strong central mass, with the head lowered to graze, creating an immediate sense of weight and natural rhythm.
The brushwork is lively, confident, and impressionistic, using visible strokes to describe hide, muscle, and movement with economy.
A bold dark form set against lighter pasture creates striking contrast, while textured paint handling catches the light beautifully across the flank and surrounding ground.
The Friesian breed is rendered with convincing stance, proportion, and coat pattern, reflecting the artist’s close familiarity with farm animals.
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👤 About the Artist
George Smith RSA (1870–1934) was a highly regarded Scottish painter best known for landscapes and animal subjects, particularly rural farm life and working animals.
Born in Mid Calder, Midlothian, he studied in Edinburgh and later in Antwerp under Charles Verlat.
He exhibited widely at major institutions including the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy, and is especially collected for his ability to capture the spirit and physical presence of animals in authentic rural settings.
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🏛️ Historical Importance
This is a classic Edwardian-era rural subject, painted at a time when agriculture and livestock were central to Scottish life and identity.
Works such as this are prized not only for their aesthetic appeal, but also as painterly records of a world that was already beginning to change.
Its cabinet scale makes it particularly attractive to collectors assembling curated walls of Scottish and British art.
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✍️ Signed
Signed by the artist (lower left), clearly visible in close-up detail.
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🪞 Framed
Presented in a traditional decorative gilt frame, highly complementary to the period and subject.
The verso bears a workshop trade label for John Gibson, Carver, Gilder & Picture Restorer, 112 Bothwell Street, Glasgow, a desirable authenticity detail indicating professional period framing and restoration.
Glazed for protection and fitted with a hanging thread, ready for immediate display.
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📏 Size
Frame dimensions (approximate):
Height: 28.5 cm
Width: 37 cm
Depth: 4 cm
(Panel/sight measurements available on request for cataloguing or insurance.)
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🔎 Provenance
Retains historic labels and notes verso from a private collection, including the John Gibson (Glasgow) framers/restorers label.
Also bears a Lindsay Burns & Company (Antique & General) 2023 label, with the piece curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD.
Together these elements form a strong, traceable object history appreciated by collectors.
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💚✅ Why You’ll Love It
✅ A genuine work by a known Scottish RSA artist with established exhibition history
✅ Highly collectible animal subject — Friesian cow in a natural grazing pose
✅ Exceptional colour harmony: blue-black, cream, warm earth pigments, layered greens
✅ Confident impressionistic technique with attractive surface texture
✅ Cabinet-scale format ideal for studies, libraries, country houses, or salon walls
✅ Period-style gilt frame with Glasgow craftsman’s label enhancing authenticity
✅ A timeless conversation piece with warmth, heritage, and painterly quality
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🩺 Condition Report
Offered in fine used condition, consistent with age.
The painting surface is in good overall order with some age-related craquelure and foxing/staining in places.
The frame shows general wear, scuffs, and minor chips commensurate with age and use.
Overall, the work presents very well and displays attractively.
