A Journey Through the Edwardian Countryside

Rideout constructs the composition around forward movement. The two chestnut horses occupy much of the foreground, their extended legs, taut reins and carefully articulated harness carrying the eye naturally towards the four-wheeled carriage behind.

The coachman sits prominently at the front in a light brown coat and black top hat, holding the reins together with a long coaching whip. Beside him is a lady wearing a salmon-pink dress and dark hat, while a gentleman dressed in darker formal clothing occupies the seat behind.

The passengers are small in scale but important to the narrative. Their dress gives the journey a social character, distinguishing the scene from a purely functional representation of horse-drawn transport.

The Painting as a Sporting Narrative

Rideout’s horses provide the principal visual drama. Warm chestnut colouring is offset by darker manes and harness, while yellow details across the tack and large carriage wheels create small but effective accents of colour.

The dark blue-green carriage and the lady’s pink clothing provide further contrasts. Rather than allowing these details to become merely decorative, Rideout uses them to distinguish the various elements of the moving group and reinforce the rhythm of the horizontal composition.

The road opens around the carriage and narrows towards the distance. Mature trees, hedgerows and vegetation frame the route, while buildings emerge through the landscape beyond.

Some distant architectural forms possess an ecclesiastical character. Current research, however, has not established a particular town, road, estate or fair with sufficient certainty, and no speculative geographical identification is made.

Philip H. Rideout and British Sporting Art

What can be established much more securely is the character of his oeuvre. Horse-drawn coaches and carriages appear repeatedly in Rideout’s work, travelling through wooded roads, winter landscapes, river crossings and open countryside.

Christie’s has documented examples including A Mail Coach in a Winter Landscape; and a Mail Coach in Summer, dated 1897; A Hunt Passing a Coach and Four; and Another Similar, dated 1901; and A Coach and Horses on a Wooded Track; and A Coach and Horses Crossing a Ford, dated 1904.

Why 1908 Matters

The date carried by Going to Fair is particularly useful when placing the painting within Rideout’s known output.

Christie’s has catalogued another coaching composition, A Coach and Four in the Snow, signed and dated “P H Rideout/1908” lower right. Executed in oil on board, the independently documented work provides a valuable same-year comparison for the present painting.

No suggestion is made that the two works were intended as companions. Their significance lies instead in establishing that Rideout was demonstrably painting closely related coaching subjects during 1908.

Historic Art-Market Context

Rideout’s coaching paintings also have an established history within the Anglo-American art trade.

Two English Coaching Scenes dated 1889 and subsequently catalogued by Skinner retained labels from Arthur Ackermann & Son, New York. These labels relate to separate paintings and do not form part of the provenance of Going to Fair, but they provide useful evidence for the historic circulation of Rideout’s coaching subjects.

The artist’s works have subsequently appeared through established international auction houses, including Christie’s and Bonhams, reinforcing the longstanding market recognition of his sporting pictures.

Signature and Physical Evidence

The painting is signed “Philip Rideout” and dated 1908 at the lower right, against the darker vegetation.

This is important because an earlier description of the work incorrectly recorded the signature as being at lower left. Examination of the painting and detailed photographs establishes its actual position conclusively as lower right.

The position also accords with numerous documented Rideout paintings. Christie’s records its 1908 A Coach and Four in the Snow, together with earlier Rideout coaching subjects, as signed and dated lower right.

The reverse reveals the historic canvas mounted upon a traditional wooden stretcher. The work is presented within a decorative gilt frame with patterned outer ornament, broad moulding and a beaded inner sight edge. No documentary evidence has presently been identified proving that the frame is original to the painting.

Provenance and Recorded History

The established title Going to Fair follows the wording of the documented 2023 auction description. No evidence has presently been identified demonstrating that the title was inscribed upon the painting or assigned personally by Rideout.

For Collectors of Sporting and Equestrian Art

Artwork Details

Condition Report

Offered in used antique condition consistent with age.

The painting retains attractive colour and considerable surviving detail throughout the horses, carriage, figures and surrounding landscape.

Age-related craquelure is visible across the painted surface and is particularly apparent within the pale sky and other lighter passages. There are scattered surface marks, areas of surface dirt and localised age-related wear and paint disturbance.

The reverse shows the canvas mounted upon a traditional wooden stretcher. No lining is apparent from examination of the available photographs.

The work has not been removed from its frame for examination by us. Consequently, no definitive assertion is made regarding the complete extent of any previous conservation, restoration or structural treatment without further technical examination.

The decorative gilt frame displays age-related rubbing, cracking, scuffs, chips, small losses and areas of historic overpainting or restoration consistent with age and use.

Please study the detailed photographs as they form an important part of the condition description. Additional photographs and information are available upon request.

Research Conclusion

Going to Fair brings together several strands that define Philip H. Rideout’s documented artistic output: horses in energetic movement, an elegant carriage, fashionable travellers and a British country landscape.

The visible signature and 1908 date, surviving auction documentation and independently catalogued comparative works provide a substantial body of evidence through which the painting can be understood. Particularly important is the existence of another Rideout coaching composition signed and dated 1908 in Christie’s records.

At the same time, responsible cataloguing requires clear limits. Rideout’s exact life dates remain inconsistently reported, the specific landscape has not been identified and no confirmed contemporary exhibition history for this painting has presently been established. Those uncertainties have therefore been retained rather than replaced with unsupported conclusions.

Shipping

Worldwide shipping is available.

The painting will be professionally packed with appropriate consideration given to the historic oil-on-canvas support and decorative gilt frame. Insured delivery can be arranged according to destination.

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, 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 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 evidence, 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 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.