Important
Sporting Paintings & Sculpture
(American, 1905-1983)
A Crossing Shot
Watercolor on paper, 61/2 x 91/2 inches
1.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
Important Sporting Paintings & Sculpture
a catalog presented in collaboration
PETER L. VILLA FINE ART, LLC
American & European Paintings from the 18th – 21st Centuries
P.O. Box 143 – 10 Todd Avenue Peapack, New Jersey 07977 In New York by Appointment 212-371-1196 peter@plvillafineart.com www.peterlvillafineart.com and
RED FOX FINE ART Sporting Paintings & Sculpture
P.O. Box 385 – 1 North Madison Street Middleburg, Virginia 20117 703-851-5160
F. Turner Reuter, Jr. tr@redfoxfineart.com www.redfoxfineart.com
Chanticleer
Signed, inscribed and dated 1912
Bronze; rich brown patina, 181/2 x 83/4 x 51/2 inches
2.
ALBERT LAESSLE (American, 1877-1954)
A Note of Introduction
We are pleased to present this second collaborative volume of significant paintings and sculpture by artists who celebrate the essence of the field sports and country life. In our current environment of anxious uncertainty, the presence of this genre of fine art in our lives strengthens our connection with the natural world, reminds us to appreciate its abundance, and provides a pleasant encouragement to embrace it.
The selection of artworks in this catalogue is intended to illustrate these leading artists’ exceptional abilities and the perceptive interpretation of their subjects accomplished with unique styles and diverse mediums. Once again, we are fortunate to be able to represent the work of Ogden M. Pleissner in considerable depth, a remarkable talent whose facility with the brush has inspired a new generation of artists.
Please note that all paintings and sculptures are offered subject to prior sale. Artworks can be viewed by appointment, or by delivery to the buyer’s location on approval. Prices, provenance, and full details of each entry are available on request.
Peter L. Villa F. Turner Reuter, Jr.
Important Sporting Paintings & Sculpture Volume II
a catalog presented in collaboration
Peter L. Villa Fine Art & Red Fox Fine Art
Copyright 2020
Peter L. Villa Fine Art, LLC / Red Fox Fine Art
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout written permission of the publishers.
ISBN-13: 978-0-578-71435-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020911383
Published in the United States by Peter L. Villa Fine Art, LLC & Red Fox Fine Art
Printed in the U.S.A. by District Creative Printing, 6350 Fallard Drive, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Layout and Design:
Andrew Hock
Artwork Photography: Brian Birlauf
Brandon Webster
Mariah Texidor
Front Cover: OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (detail) Plate 9
Opposite: ARTHUR FITZWILLIAM TAIT (detail) Plate 18
(American, 1877-1962)
Percheron Stallion: Rhum, 1921-1924
Signed HASELTINE on the marble base
Bronze; unusual silver patina with gold highlights on the mane, tail and hooves
12 x 12 x 4 inches, with marble base 14 x 131/2 x 5 inches
3.
HERBERT HASELTINE
HERBERT HASELTINE
Percheron Stallion: Rhum, 1921-1924
Provenance:
Private Collection, United Kingdom
Collections:
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Paul Mellon Collection, 86.134.
Philips Andover Academy Art Museum, Andover, Massachusetts
Evergreen Museum & Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
This portrait of the Champion Percheron stallion Rhum was modelled in the 1920’s as part of the Field Museum's (Chicago, IL) ‘Champion Animals’ project. Haseltine first modelled three Percherons, of which Rhum was one, in plasticine at the Greyling Stud in Warwickshire. He showed a grouping of all three together cast in plaster and silver-leaf at the exhibition of the British Champion Animals at the Galerie George Petit, Paris in 1925. He then decided the composition did not read well and subsequently cast 'The Percheron Stallion Rhum' and 'The Percheron Mare Messaline and Her Foal' as two separate models. Of Rhum, Haseltine later recalled he had “powerful quarters, a spirited head, a large, expressive eye and delicately shaped ears… with head erect, and turned slightly to the left, eyes accompanying the movement his lips were beginning to quiver, preparatory to neighing, as he would do when he heard the mares being turned out in the nearby pasture”.
Casting Note:
Haseltine produced the model of Rhum in three sizes as a part of the British Champion Animal Series. The large version approximately one quarter life-size, was limited to just one or in some cases two examples with the first of each going to the Field Museum. The medium version was one eighth life-size and was produced on demand as a part of a complete set, although research suggests that less than ten casts of this set were made. Finally, a small version, one sixteenth in size was produced and sold as a complete set – just six of these were made. The present example is from the medium size edition and is a particularly fine example of this model produced circa 1940. Previous examples, with one exception, have had more traditional patinas and less or no gilding on the forelock, hooves and tail.
The Art of Ogden M. Pleissner
Over the course of many years, a considerable number of artists have endeavored to capture the essence of fly-fishing for salmon and trout, gunning for waterfowl, shooting ruffed grouse and woodcock, quail or driven grouse; however few have managed to equal the work of Winslow Homer, Frank W. Benson, A.L. Ripley, and Ogden Pleissner.
Pleissner considered himself to be a “landscape painter who also likes to hunt and fish.” He is an artist whose beautiful renderings of the natural environment always leave out some detail for the mind’s eye to fill in, thereby drawing the viewer into the oil painting or watercolor. Pleissner felt that “a fine painting is not just the subject ... it is the feeling conveyed of form, bulk, space, dimensionality, and sensitivity. The mood of the picture, that is the most important.”
Thomas S. Buechner, an old friend and an authority on art history, has this to say about Ogden Pleissner: “There is a special joy in witnessing a champion performance – in tennis, politics, or in painting. Anyone who knows anything about recording the visual world in paint must be awestruck by Pleissner’s performance. Extremely complicated subjects are rendered so accurately, so spontaneously, so appreciatively that comparison with Homer and Sargent is inevitable … Catching a fish or fueling a plane may be the subject, but the picture is about an emotion that the artist has; he uses these things, arranges them, colors them, lights them to convey a mood ... Pleissner invites us to transcend our focus on action to see the whole scene – quietly, and from a little distance.”
Sporting art is exactly that, art with a sporting theme. There is obvious or hidden prey in the picture and game is depicted in a well-painted landscape that may also include a figure holding a rod or gun; or simply could be an image of a stream, river, marsh, moor or hillside where one senses that a fish or bird lies in waiting.
Artists who have the potential to create great sporting art know well the habits of the wild creatures, and have committed to memory every detail of their habitats. These artists have experienced the thrill of an Atlantic salmon or a large trout taking a well-presented fly, the explosion of a bursting covey of quail, sunrise over a duck marsh, running the rapids in a canoe, or sleeping under the stars.
Ogden Pleissner is one of these men and his great skill as an artist can be recognized by the fine collection of his oils and watercolors illustrated in this catalog.
Peter Bergh
Author of The Art of Ogden M. Pleissner
(American, 1905-1983)
Salmon
Signed
Watercolor on paper, 18 x 27 inches
4.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
Leaping on the Miramachi
(American, 1905-1983) Fishing the George Signed
Watercolor on paper, 16 1/2 x 26 1/2 inches
5. OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
(American, 1905-1983)
Waiting for the Rise
Signed Watercolor on paper, 161/2 x 261/2 inches
6.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
(American, 1905-1983) Evening at Fraser’s Pool Signed Watercolor on paper, 71/2 x 101/2 inches
7.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
(American, 1905-1983) Indian Camp on the Moisie River Signed Watercolor on paper, 9 x 14 inches
8.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
(American, 1905-1983) Salmon Fishing Signed Watercolor on paper, 8 x 10 inches
9.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
(American, 1905-1983) Casting the Pool Signed Watercolor on paper, 11 x 17 1/2 inches
10.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
(American, 1851-1928)
Quail Shooting - Walking Up Signed and dated 1881
Black wash, ink & gouache on paper, 12 x 141/2 inches
11.
ARTHUR BURDETT FROST
(American, 1851-1928)
Live Pigeon Shooting at the Morristown Gun Club Signed Watercolor and gouache on paper, 11 x 17 inches
12.
ARTHUR BURDETT FROST
(British, 1848-1896)
The Keeper’s Bothie Signed and dated 1879 Oil on canvas, 41 x 51 inches
13.
JOHN SARGENT NOBLE
Signed Bronze; dark green patina, 161/2 x 141/2 x 91/2 inches
14.
PROSPER LECOURTIER (French, 1855-1924)
Hound Bitch and Pups
1808-1893)
Spaniels Putting up a Pheasant
Signed and dated 1864
Oil on canvas, 28 x 36 inches
15.
GEORGE ARMFIELD (British,
(British, 1832-1889)
Gun Dogs and Game
Signed and dated 1888 Oil on canvas, 28 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches
16.
JAMES HARDY, JR.
(American, 1858-1928) Pointer with Quail Signed and dated 1890 Oil on canvas, 261/2 x 351/2 inches
17.
EDMUND H. OSTHAUS
(American, 1819-1905)
Setters on Quail
Signed, inscribed and dated 1883 Oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches
18.
ARTHUR FITZWILLIAM TAIT
(American, 1896-1969)
October Day - Walking Up Woodcock
Signed and dated 1938
Watercolor on paper, 15 x 24 inches
19.
AIDEN LASSELL RIPLEY
(American, 1896-1969) Springers and Pheasants
Signed and dated 1948 and signed, inscribed and dated 1948 on verso Oil on canvas, 27 x 40 inches
20.
AIDEN LASSELL RIPLEY
(American, 1819-1905)
On Point, a Setter and Pointer with Snipe Signed, inscribed and dated 83 Oil on panel, 6 x 12 inches
21.
ARTHUR FITZWILLIAM TAIT
22.
GEORGE COPE
(American, 1855-1929)
Cabin Door: Hanging Snipe Signed and dated 1912 Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches
Signed
Watercolor on paper, 17 3/4 x 27 3/4 inches
23.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (American, 1905-1983)
Duck Shooting
Canada Geese Coming In
Signed and dated ‘28
Watercolor on paper, 19¼ x 24 inches
24.
FRANK W. BENSON (American, 1862-1951)
(American, 1905-1983)
The Duck Blind Signed Watercolor on paper, 7 x 93/4 inches
25.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
(American, 1896-1969) Near the Old Orchard Signed Watercolor on paper, 18¼ x 29 inches
26.
AIDEN LASSELL RIPLEY
(American, 1905-1983)
Waiting for the Drive
Watercolor on paper, 8 x 10 inches
27.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
OGDEN
(American, 1905-1983) The Stonewall Drive Signed Watercolor on paper, 17 x 28 inches
28.
M. PLEISSNER
(British, 1795-1865)
Feeding Time in the Farmyard
Signed and dated 1858
Oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches
29.
JOHN FREDERICK HERRING, SR.
(British, 1795-1865)
Dr. Caius, the Property of the Earl of Eglington
Signed and dated 1843
Oil on canvas, 28 x 36 inches
30.
JOHN FREDERICK HERRING, SR.
(German, 1812-1892)
Vixen and Cubs
Signed and dated 1852
Oil on canvas, 32 x 45 inches
31.
BENNO RAFFAEL ADAM
(British, 1815-1907) Before the Meet Signed Oil on canvas, 28 x 37 inches
32.
JOHN FREDERICK HERRING, JR.
(British, 1795-1865)
Tramp, A Bay Racehorse
Signed and dated 1828
Oil on panel, 14 x 18 inches
33.
JOHN FREDERICK HERRING, SR.
(French 1827-1901)
Groom Leading a Horse in Sidesaddle Tack
Signed and inscribed PEYROL Bronze; rich dark brown patina, 16 ¼ x 21¼ x 8 ¼ inches
34.
ISIDORE JULES BONHEUR
(British, 1868-1941)
Don Sancho and KCB Held by their Lads
Signed and dated 1932 Oil on canvas, 40 x 60 inches
35.
JAMES LYNWOOD PALMER
(British, 1879-1937) Ascot
Signed Watercolor on paper, 10 x 16 inches
36.
GILBERT HOLIDAY
(British, 1878-1966)
The East Essex Hunt
Signed
Watercolor & gouache on paper, 17 x 29 inches
37.
LIONEL D. EDWARDS
(British, 1878-1966) Over the Ditch Signed
Watercolor & gouache on paper, 18 x 14 inches
38.
LIONEL D. EDWARDS
(British, 1885-1971)
The Quorn Hunt, Near Billesdon Coplow, Walter Wilson, on Optimist, Major A. Burnaby, on Cherribob
Signed and dated 1933
Oil on canvas, 38 x 72 inches
39.
CHARLES WALTER SIMPSON
(British, 1870-1935)
J. Ashton Radcliffe, M.F.H., Hunting the South Dorset Pack at Milborne Wood
Signed and dated 1922
Pastel on paper mounted on board, 41 x 71 inches
40.
CECIL ALDIN
(British, 1798-1879)
The Bridge Pool, one of a pair Signed and dated 1839 Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 inches
41a.
FREDERICK R. LEE
(British, 1798-1879)
Anglers by the Rapids, one of a pair Oil on canvas, 50 x 40 inches
41b.
FREDERICK R. LEE
Signed and inscribed Bronze; dark brown patina with warm brown highlights, 53/8 x 23 x 121/2 inches
42.
PAUL WAYLAND BARTLETT
(American, 1865-1925)
Crocodile
Signed and dated 1877
Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches
43.
WILLIAM HUGGINS (British, 1820-1884)
Lion Portrait
ISIDORE JULES BONHEUR
(French, 1827-1901)
Standing Bull, one of a pair Signed and inscribed PEYROL Bronze; dark brown patina with golden brown highlights, 271/2 x 361/2 x 10 inches
44a.
ISIDORE JULES BONHEUR
(French, 1827-1901)
Walking Bear, one of a pair Signed and inscribed PEYROL Bronze; dark brown patina with golden brown highlights, 271/2 x 32 x 11 inches
44b.
Signed and dated 1903
45.
GEORGE COPE (American, 1855-1929)
Cabin Door: Hanging Ducks
Oil on canvas, 23 x 16 inches
(American, 1858-1927) A Brace on Point Signed Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches
46.
GUSTAVE MUSS-ARNOLT
On Point
Signed Oil on canvas, 16 x 24 inches
47.
JOHN MARTIN TRACY
(American, 1844-1893)
Signed Oil on canvas, 18 x 26 inches
48.
GEORGE BROWNE (American, 1918-1958)
Quail in the Pine Woods
49.
WILLIAM M. PAXTON
(American, 1869-1941)
Autumn Shooting
Signed Oil on canvas, 32 x 18 inches
Signed
Watercolor on paper, 18 x 28 inches
50.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (American 1905-1983)
Grouse Shooting
(American, 1859-1937)
Three Setters on Point Signed Watercolor on paper, 20 x 28 inches
51. PERCIVAL LEONARD ROSSEAU
(American, 1896-1969)
Signed and dated 1935
Watercolor on paper, 18 x 25 inches
52. AIDEN LASSELL RIPLEY
Pine Cover Grouse
Grouse Shooting Signed Watercolor on paper, 16 x 27 inches
53.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (American 1905-1983)
(American, 1918-1958) At The Crossing 1957
Signed Oil on canvas, 22 x 32 inches
54.
GEORGE BROWNE
(American, 1905-1983)
Landing a Heavy Salmon
Signed and dated 1931
Oil on canvas, 22 x 24 inches
55.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
1905-1983)
56.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (American,
Salmon Fishing Signed Oil on canvas, 18 x 22 inches
1905-1983)
Fishing the Riffles Signed Watercolor on paper, 14 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches
57.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (American,
(American, 1905-1983)
A Rise Near the Cabin Signed Watercolor on paper, 17 x 27¼ inches
58.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
1905-1983)
A Perfect Day Signed Oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches
59.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (American,
Rising Mist - Cran Serre,
River Signed
Watercolor on paper, 18 x 28 inches
60.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (American, 1905-1983)
Moisie
(American, 1905-1983) The Gondolier Signed Watercolor on paper, 18 x 28 inches
61.
OGDEN M. PLEISSNER
Index
Adam, Benno Raffael Vixen and Cubs (Plate 31)
Aldin, Cecil
J. Ashton Radcliffe, M.F.H., Hunting the South Dorset Pack at Milborne Wood (Plate 40)
Armfield, George Spaniels Putting up a Pheasant (Plate 15)
Bartlett, Paul Wayland Crocodile (Plate 42)
Barye, Antoine-Louis Reclining Bear (Plate 62)
Benson, Frank W. Canada Geese Coming In (Plate 24)
Bonheur, Isidore Jules
Groom Leading a Horse in Sidesaddle Tack (Plate 34)
Standing Bull, one of a pair (Plate 44a.) Walking Bear, one of a pair (Plate 44b.)
Browne, George Quail in the Pine Woods (Plate 48) At The Crossing 1957 (Plate 54)
Cope, George
Cabin Door: Hanging Snipe (Plate 22) Cabin Door: Hanging Ducks (Plate 45)
Edwards, Lionel D.
The East Essex Hunt (Plate 37) Over the Ditch (Plate 38)
Frost, Arthur Burdett
Quail Shooting - Walking Up (Plate 11)
Live Pigeon Shooting at the Morristown Gun Club (Plate 12)
Hardy, Jr., James Gun Dogs and Game (Plate 16)
Haseltine, Herbert Percheron Stallion: Rhum, 1921-1924 (Plate 3)
Dairy Short Horn, Lily Carter II, 1922-1924 (Plate 63)
Herring, Jr., John Frederick Before the Meet (Plate 32)
Herring, Sr., John Frederick
Feeding Time in the Farmyard (Plate 29)
Dr. Caius, the Property of the Earl of Eglington (Plate 30)
Tramp, A Bay Racehorse (Plate 33)
Holiday, Gilbert Ascot (Plate 36)
Huggins, William
Lion Portrait (Plate 43)
Laessle, Albert
Chanticleer (Plate 2)
Lecourtier, Prosper Hound Bitch and Pups (Plate 14)
Lee, Frederick R.
The Bridge Pool, one of a pair (Plate 41a.)
Anglers by the Rapids, one of a pair (Plate 41b.)
Muss-Arnolt, Gustave
A Brace on Point (Plate 46)
Noble, John Sargent
The Keeper’s Bothie (Plate 13)
Osthaus, Edmund H.
Pointer with Quail (Plate 17)
Palmer, James Lynwood
Don Sancho and KCB Held by their Lads (Plate 35)
Paxton, William M.
Autumn Shooting (Plate 49)
Pleissner, Ogden M.
A Crossing Shot (Plate 1)
Salmon Leaping on the Miramachi (Plate 4)
Fishing the George (Plate 5)
Waiting for the Rise (Plate 6)
Evening at Fraser’s Pool (Plate 7)
Indian Camp on the Moisie River (Plate 8)
Salmon Fishing (Plate 9)
Casting the Pool (Plate 10)
Duck Shooting (Plate 23)
The Duck Blind (Plate 25)
Waiting for the Drive (Plate 27)
The Stonewall Drive (Plate 28)
Grouse Shooting (Plate 50)
Grouse Shooting (Plate 53)
Landing a Heavy Salmon (Plate 55)
Salmon Fishing (Plate 56)
Fishing the Riffles (Plate 57)
A Rise Near the Cabin (Plate 58)
A Perfect Day (Plate 59)
Rising Mist - Cran Serre, Moisie River (Plate 60)
The Gondolier (Plate 61)
Ripley, Aiden Lassell
October Day - Walking Up Woodcock (Plate 19)
Springers and Pheasants (Plate 20)
Near the Old Orchard (Plate 26)
Pine Cover Grouse (Plate 52)
Rosseau, Percival Leonard
Three Setters on Point (Plate 51)
Simpson, Charles Walter
The Quorn Hunt, Near Billesdon Coplow, Walter Wilson, on Optimist, Major A. Burnaby, on Cherribob (Plate 39)
Tait, Arthur Fitzwilliam
Setters on Quail (Plate 18)
On Point, a Setter and Pointer with Snipe (Plate 21)
Tracy, John Martin
On Point (Plate 47)
62.
ANTOINE-LOUIS
BARYE
(French, 1796-1875)
Reclining Bear
Signed Bronze; dark brown patina 53/4 x 8 x 53/4 inches
Opposite: OGDEN M. PLEISSNER (detail) Plate 29
Back Cover: 63.
Signed HASELTINE on marble base Bronze; unusual green and brown patina, 81/2 x 121/2 x 41/2 inches, with the marble base 10 x 13 x 51/2 inches
HERBERT HASELTINE (American, 1877-1962)
Dairy Short Horn, Lily Carter II, 1922-1924
