Basil Nightingale (British 1864-1940) “The Celebrated Belvoir Gambler” Oil on Canvas

Fine Art : Paintings : Oil

 

Basil Nightingale (British 1864-1940); “The Celebrated Belvoir Gambler” a portrait from life of the famous English Foxhound, painted circa 1884: oil on canvas; signed lower right and titled bottom centre; Mounted in a good, probably original, varnished wood frame; 48.5 x 73cm (19 x 28 3/4ins) sight (visible canvas) size; 60 x 80.5cm (23 1/2 x 31 3/4ins) frame size.

Together with a preparatory drawing for the same painting; pencil, heightened with white; glazed and framed; 35.5 x 54cm (sight); inscribed as follows by the artist:

“The Celebrated Belvoir Gambler, A Sketch From Life. A 23 inch hound – Girth 31 1/2 – Length 27 1/2 – arm 8 1/4. His Grace (the late) Duke of Rutland paid me £1 per pound for painting him – he weighed nearly 80lbs. Basil Nightingale”

A description of Belvoir Gambler, recognized as the greatest English Foxhound ever bred, says, "Next to an old Greek statue, there are few such combinations of grace and strength as a fine Foxhound". In “The Reminiscences of Frank Gillard (Huntsman) with the Belvoir Hounds 1860 to 1896” by Cuthbert Bradley (London, Edward Arnold, 1898) it says of him: “The name of Gambler by the famous Weathergage - Gratitude is one known world wide, for his sons and daughters went to build up kennels throughout the United Kingdom and abroad. A hound of great character and massive appearance, combined with beautiful colour and outline, he made a king worthy of such a pack like the Belvoir. His praises have been sung by all who saw him...”.

The portrait for sale here may well be the only one taken directly from life by this artist, early in his artistic career. Another attributed to him, showing the dog in the same stance (see The Reminiscences of Frank Gillard, facing page 186) would appear to have been sanitized, with the fox head and bloodstains removed, and is probably later.

CONDITION: Both painting and drawing are in good clean condition and are ready to hang. There is a small professional patched repair to the rear of the canvas, with associated retouching to the background at the upper right, visible only under examination with ultraviolet light, which also reveals a few very small spots of retouching elsewhere.

BIOGRAPHY: Basil Nightingale was born in 1864 at Maldon in Essex, England. He was the youngest son of Robert Nightingale (1815 – 1895) a noted painter of equestrian, animal and still-life subjects, by whom he was probably trained and with whom he collaborated on some pictures.

Basil Nightingale is believed to have worked at Melton Mowbray for some time, which is probably where he painted several portraits for the Quorn and Belvoir hunts, including his famous picture of Tom Firr, huntsman to the Quorn, on Whitelegs.

He was a noted sportsman as well as a prolific artist and a painting of Lord Lonsdale (Master of the Quorn) jumping a railway track carries the inscription that Lonsdale is depicted breaking the record for a wide jump set by Nightingale himself.

Nightingale worked in Oil, watercolour and pastel, producing work of high quality from an early age. He painted a large number of hunting scenes as well as racehorses for the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. He moved to Leamington, Warwickshire in 1902 and later to Banbury where he died in 1940.

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Item ID: RL-0647