Signed Early Victorian Chestnut Hunter Oil Painting Signed by Charles Bilger Spalding

Signed Early Victorian Chestnut Hunter Oil Painting Charles Bilger Spalding 1843 Early Victorian British Equestrian Portrait of a Chestnut Hunter in a Stable Highlights: • Charles Bilger Spalding (British, 1810–1871) • A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable • Signed and dated 1843 • Original oil on canvas • Early Victorian British sporting and equestrian painting • Mature chestnut hunter standing within an atmospheric stable interior • Painted during the early documented period of Spalding’s career • Spalding first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840 • Documented association with sporting publishers S. & J. Fuller • Sporting work represented in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool • Mallams, Oxford provenance • Later decorative gilt moulded frame • An appealing work for collectors of Victorian horse paintings and British sporting art Introduction: A finely observed early Victorian equestrian oil painting by Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871), portraying a mature chestnut hunter standing quietly within its stable. Signed and dated 1843, the work belongs to an important early period in Spalding’s documented career as a painter of sporting and country subjects. The composition is deliberately restrained. Rather than showing the excitement of the hunting field, Spalding presents the horse alone within its familiar environment, allowing its physical form, colouring and individual expression to become the principal focus. The warm chestnut coat contrasts attractively with the subdued earth tones of the stable, while the horse’s attentive eye introduces a subtle sense of personality. Catalogue Details: Artist: Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871) Title: A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable Date: 1843 School: British Period: Early Victorian / mid-19th century Medium: Oil on canvas Signature: Signed Date inscription: Dated 1843 Subject: Mature chestnut hunter standing within a stable Canvas: 53cm wide × 41cm high Frame: Later decorative gilt moulded frame Catalogue Note: The horse occupies much of the horizontal composition and is shown almost entirely in profile. Spalding builds the animal through rich chestnut, russet and mahogany tones. Controlled highlights travel across the neck, shoulder, barrel and hindquarters, describing the muscular structure and suggesting the reflective quality of the coat. The head receives particularly careful attention. The visible eye, muzzle and facial modelling give the animal an individual presence. The surrounding stable is treated more broadly. Muted ochres, browns, creams and greys establish a convincing interior while ensuring that the horse remains visually dominant. Loose linear strokes across the foreground evoke scattered straw and add texture beneath the animal. The overall effect is intimate and observational rather than theatrical. The Chestnut Hunter and Stable Setting: The animal is appropriately described as a mature chestnut hunter. Its developed physique and sporting proportions are consistent with the type of horse associated with nineteenth-century British hunting and country life. No independent documentary evidence presently establishes the horse’s individual name, precise breed or original owner. The stable location has likewise not been securely identified. The restrained environment nevertheless contributes significantly to the painting. By removing the horse from sporting action, Spalding allows it to function as an individual portrait subject. Colour and Technique: The painting is executed in oil on canvas. Warm chestnut, mahogany and russet tones dominate the horse, complemented by ochres, creams, greys and earthy browns throughout the stable. Spalding concentrates the most detailed modelling upon the animal. Highlights and darker tonal passages articulate the horse’s anatomy, while the surrounding architecture is more freely painted. The contrast between precise equine observation and broader environmental handling creates both depth and atmosphere. Dating the Painting: The painting is dated 1843. The date places it within the early phase of Spalding’s documented professional career. University of the Arts London records that Spalding first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840 and worked for the London sporting publishers S. & J. Fuller. The present painting was therefore produced during a period in which equestrian and sporting imagery was already firmly established within his practice. Early Victorian Sporting Art: Horse portraiture occupied an important position within nineteenth-century British sporting culture. Hunters and other valued horses could be commemorated as individual subjects, preserving their appearance and character for their owners. Spalding’s painting belongs to this tradition while remaining particularly intimate in conception. There is no rider, pack of hounds or expansive landscape. The horse itself provides the entire focus. The Artist: Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871) was a British painter specialising in sporting and country subjects. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840. His professional activity also included work for S. & J. Fuller, including a portrait of Satirist, winner of the 1841 St Leger. His documented oeuvre encompasses horses, hounds, hunting scenes and broader aspects of British sporting and country life. Royal Academy Exhibition History: Spalding’s documented Royal Academy activity provides important context for the present work. His first recorded exhibition took place in 1840. A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable was painted in 1843 and therefore belongs to the early years of his documented exhibition career. Spalding is correctly described as a Royal Academy exhibitor rather than as an elected Royal Academician. This corrects the older LoveAntiques listing, which currently describes him as “RA” and dates the painting to 1842. Sporting Publications and S. & J. Fuller: Spalding’s relationship with S. & J. Fuller demonstrates his involvement with the wider visual culture surrounding nineteenth-century British sport. The firm was closely associated with racing, hunting and equestrian imagery. Spalding’s documented portrait of Satirist, winner of the 1841 St Leger, provides particularly relevant context for an equestrian painting produced only two years later. Museum Collections: Spalding’s sporting work is represented within British public collections. The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, holds A Huntsman with His Horse and a Group of Hounds. The museum work presents a broader sporting narrative involving horse, huntsman and hounds, while the present painting offers the quieter experience of an individual horse within its stable. Comparable Works: Spalding continued to explore horses and hunting subjects throughout his career. A particularly relevant chronological comparison is The Meet of the Hambledon Hounds at Preshaw House, Hampshire, the Seat of Walter Long in 1844. Painted only one year after the present portrait, the work demonstrates Spalding’s ability to move between intimate equine portraiture and ambitious sporting compositions. Signature and Date: The painting is signed and dated. The date is catalogued as 1843. The signed and dated character of the work, together with its equestrian subject, documented auction history and relationship to Spalding’s established sporting oeuvre, supports the present catalogue identification. No secure documentary evidence presently identifies the individual horse. Provenance: Private collection, United Kingdom. Mallams, Oxford; Affordable Art – Timed, January 2025; catalogued as Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871), A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable, signed and dated 1843, oil on canvas. Acquired by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, 2025. Original Mallams purchase documentation retained. Frame: Presented in a later decorative gilt moulded frame. The scrolling and foliate ornament provides an appropriately traditional presentation for the early Victorian equestrian subject. The frame is not represented as original to the painting. Minor marks, rubbing and surface variations are present consistent with manufacture, handling and use. Collecting Interest: A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable combines several characteristics of interest to collectors of nineteenth-century British sporting art. It is a signed and dated equestrian portrait by an identified sporting painter whose documented career includes Royal Academy exhibitions and professional involvement with sporting publishing. Its 1843 date places it within the early phase of Spalding’s documented career. The intimate stable setting distinguishes it from the artist’s larger hunting compositions, while the documented Mallams provenance provides a clear modern art-market history. 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, exhibition history 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, dating 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 physical evidence, historic inscriptions, 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, identity of the horse, stable location 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. 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