Shooting over dogs; Reloading

THOMAS HAND  

c.1771 – 1804  

English School  

Shooting over dogs; Reloading    

Oil on canvas, a pair

30.5 x 40.5 cms

12 x 16 inches

Thomas Hand was pupil, assistant and "companion of his excesses" to the very influential English painter of rural subjects, George Morland.

He worked in such a close style to his master that many of Morland`s later pictures, undertaken when he was in a poor state through drinking, were principally painted by Hand. Many of these paintings were accepted at the time as being genuine Morlands although close inspection reveals that Hand employed hastier brush strokes and orange and yellow pigments that give his paintings a lighter and more airy feel than that of his illustrious and renowned companion.

As well as producing landscapes, Hand`s oeuvre included a large percentage of hunting scenes and horse portraits all sent in from London addresses. He exhibited one picture at the Society of Artists in 1790 and 21 at the Royal Academy between 1792 and 1804. Titles include: "Drawing a Cover", "The First Shot in September - morning", "Interior of a Stable" and "Portrait of a Gentleman and a Horse".

A set of four aquatints, depicting fox hunting scenes, were engraved by James Hassall and published by James Linnell of Bloomsbury. Another hunting scene was engraved by Charles Knight and H Merke in 1808 but was reissued by the publisher with Morland`s name on it presumably because he thought that would make it more commercial.

Thomas Hand died within a few weeks of George Morland.

Grant says of his paintings, "…many are delightful examples of rustic painting, and if only second to Morland`s, a close second, and therefore of excellence themselves; indeed their very haste and freedom may even commend them higher"



Bibliography:

Dictionary of British Landscape Painters - M H Grant

Dictionary of British Equestrian Artists - Sally Mitchell

Dictionary of British 18th Century Painters - Ellis Waterhouse