James Hardy Junior

James Hardy Junior (1832–1889) - 1865 Oil, The Boy's Pet Rabbits

1865

Am exquisite example of the work of the Victorian genre scene painter, Thomas Hardy Junior. The scene shows a barn interior, with a young boy seated on the hay strewn floor, with his pet rabbits. Two little girls stand in the doorway, curiously watching the rabbits, one little girl offering a leaf in her outstretched hand. The scene is fully of wonderful details in the trees and sky, just visible through the gaps in the barn's planks, the delicate hay and wheat sheaves picked outer by the shafting sun and the softly falling light that casts shadows in the corners of the barn. The artist has signed and dated to the lower left.

The painting has been handsomely presented in fine 19th Century gilt Rococo Revival frame with ornate acanthus leaf corners, delicate floral molding along the cove and lamb's tongue strap work, finished with a beveled gilt mount, inscribed with the title and the artist's name.

There is a handwritten label in the artist's hand at the reverse with the artist's name and his address in Bristol. There is also the original framer's labels.