Items Similar to On Point (Hunting the Woodcock)
- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10
John Martin TracyOn Point (Hunting the Woodcock)c. 1880s
c. 1880s
Price Upon Request

About
John Martin Tracy (1843-1893)
"On Point" (Hunting the Woodcock)
Oil on Panel
Signed
Site Size: approx. 16 x 24 inches
Framed Size: approx. 22.5 x 29.5
There is relatively little record of the particulars of John Martin Tracy's early years, education, or artistic influences. What is abundantly clear, however, is that Tracy's reputation as one of the nation's most admired sporting artists is unquestioned, despite his having come to the genre fairly late in his brief life. In 1895, a writer for the New York Times opined that "J. M. Tracy was a painter to delight the heart of all sporting men . . . He painted the hunter before the flock of birds, the dog with tail extended and paw uplifted, as he stood quivering over the scent; and he did it all con amore, faithfully and with full understanding and knowledge of his subject."
A Mayflower descendant, John Martin Tracy was born in Rochester, Ohio. His father, an abolitionist preacher, was killed in a mob uprising at an anti-slavery rally shortly before the boy's birth. His mother, Hannah Conant Tracy (later Cutler), was able to support the couple's three children by working as a highly respected journalist. Her professional duties in that capacity and pioneering role in the national suffrage movement required frequent travel; as a result, Tracy and his sisters spent a majority of their childhoods with their maternal grandmother in Rochester. A sensitive, gifted, and imaginative child, Tracy excelled in the local schools before advancing to Oberlin College and then Northwestern University, where he began his art studies. He was forced to abandon his education, however, at the onset of the Civil War; as a member of the 19th Illinois Infantry, Tracy quickly attained the rank of lieutenant and began to formulate his artistic ambitions.
Upon his discharge from the military, Tracy worked various odd jobs in southern Illinois to save money for European travel. He was enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts from 1867-1868 and studied in the progressive atelier of the French portrait master Carolus-Duran. Following his year abroad, Tracy struck out for California, where artists like Alfred Bierstadt were creating dynamic landscapes of the western terrain. From 1872-1873, Tracy maintained a studio in Chicago, before returning to Paris. During his second stay in the city, he underwent rigorous training under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran to learn precise drawing from memory, a skill that served him well in his notably accurate renditions of sporting scenes. He also fraternized with fellow American artists John Singer Sargent and James Carroll Beckwith, who served as best man at Tracy's wedding to Mélanie Guillemin, sister of the sculptor Emile Guillemin. Tracy's full-length portrait of his wife was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1874, marking a stylistic transition from romantic landscapes to portraiture.
Upon his return to the United States in 1878, Tracy established a studio in St Louis. Despite his success as portrait artist, he increasingly turned his attention to elaborate field and sporting landscapes, themes with which painters Arthur Burdett Frost and Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait were already enjoying patronage. His skill in capturing every element of the hunt—the glorious natural setting, the dynamic activity, the vitality of man and beast, the majesty of finely bred champion dogs and horses, and the revered dignity of the sport—soon catapulted him to the forefront of that specialty. Though he made a permanent home in Greenwich, Connecticut beginning in 1881, he traveled extensively—and especially throughout the South—executing commission for hunt scenes.
Tracy's life and career were cut short. The artist was only forty-nine when he died in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, a warm retreat he had frequented during winter months. Shortly before his death, five paintings slated for inclusion in the 1893 Chicago World's Fair were lost in a fire, a devastating blow to the artist. In the aftermath of that loss, the final painting on his easel was one of his largest and most ambitious works, Candidates for the Horse Show, now in the collection of the Morris Museum of Art. Tracy's work rarely reaches the present-day art market, held closely by private collectors and sporting clubs. Examples of his work can be found at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the American Kennel Club.
Details
- CreatorJohn Martin Tracy
- Creation Yearc. 1880s
- DimensionsHeight: 16 in. (40.64 cm)Width: 24 in. (60.96 cm)
- Medium
- Movement & Style
- Period
- Condition
- Gallery LocationMissouri, MO
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU74735821151
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingRates vary by destination and complexity.Ships From: Missouri, MO
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
1stDibs Buyer Protection Guaranteed
If your item arrives not as described, we’ll work with you and the seller to make it right. Learn more

About the SellerLocated in Missouri, MO
4.9 / 5
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 1970
1stDibs seller since 2017
91 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 4 hours
More From This Seller
- Located in Missouri, MOClement Nye Swift "Breton Chores" 1870 Oil on Canvas Signed and Dated Lower Right Canvas Size: approx 27 x18 i...Category
1870s Victorian Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- By Robert Elton TindallLocated in Missouri, MORobert Elton Tindall (1913-1983) "Tending the Garden" (Girl with a Hoe) c. 1940 Egg Tempera with Resin Oil Glaze...Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Paintings
MaterialsEgg Tempera, Wood Panel
- By Frederick Rushing RoeLocated in Missouri, MOFramed Size: 16 x 18 inches Frederick Rushing Roe (1864 - 1947) was active/lived in United Kingdom. Frederick ...Category
Early 20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil, Panel
- By Mark SwansonLocated in Missouri, MOMark Swanson (b. 1958) “Mountain Springtime" Oil on Panel 18 x 22 inches/ 25 x 29 Framed Mark Swanson was born ...Category
Late 20th Century American Realist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil, Panel
- By Antoine BlanchardLocated in Missouri, MOAntoine Blanchard "Quai de Louvre" Oil on Canvas Signed Canvas Size: approx 13 x 18 Framed Size: approx. 22 x 26Category
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- By Paul CornoyerLocated in Missouri, MOCanvas Size: approx. 18 x 19 inches Framed Size: approx. 21 x 23 inches Paul Cornoyer was born in 1864 in St....Category
1890s American Impressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
H 18 in. W 19 in.Price Upon Request
You May Also Like
19th Century landscape oil painting of figures in a Dutch townscape
By Johannes Bartholomeus van Hove
Located in Moreton-In-Marsh, Gloucestershire
Johannes Bartholomeus van Hove
Dutch, (1790-1880)
Sitting in the Dutch Sunshine
Oil on panel, signed
Image size: 11 inches x 9.5 inches
Size including frame: 16.25 inches x 14.75 inc...
Category
19th Century Victorian Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
19th Century townscape oil painting of a flower seller by the Grand Canal Venice
By Antonio Ermolao Paoletti
Located in Moreton-In-Marsh, Gloucestershire
Antonio Ermolao Paoletti
Italian, (1834-1912)
The Venetian Flower Seller
Oil on panel, signed
Image size: 15.5 inches x 19.5 inches
Size including frame: 21.5 inches x 25.5 inches
...
Category
19th Century Victorian Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
19th Century genre oil painting of two gentlemen in a garden
By Frank Moss Bennett
Located in Moreton-In-Marsh, Gloucestershire
Frank Moss Bennett
British, (1874-1952)
In the Garden
Oil on panel, signed & dated 1907
Image size: 11 inches x 13.5 inches
Size including frame: 20 inches x 22.5 inches
Frank Moss...
Category
19th Century Victorian Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Vineyard - Ronald Soeliman, 21st Century Contemporary Oil Painting Landscape
By Ronald Soeliman
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
The studio of this extravert painter is outside. Everywhere the light is, there you can find Ronald Soeliman. The work of Ronald Soeliman caught us immediately because of the color...
Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Red Dress- 21st Century Contemporary Cityscape ( Amsterdam)
By Richard van Mensvoort
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
This painting is made by Dutch artist Richard van Mensvoort (1972)
Already as a child, he was drawing anything that caught his eye. People, animals, everyday life…
He studied Ad...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Stones on the Beach- 21st Century Contemporary landscape painting
By Esther Schlebos
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
This painting by Esther Schlebos is made in thick layers of paint. Esther Schlebos, winner of the 'Prix de Norvège 2019' likes to paint the character of stones, tree roots and thee ...
Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Treeroots-21st Century Landscape Oil Painting by Dutch painter Esther Schlebos
By Esther Schlebos
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Esther Schlebos won "The Prix de Norvège" on her graduation in July 2019 for her landscape paintings with which she graduated. Together with Marein Konijn, her fellow student and als...
Category
2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Rain in Amsterdam- 21st Century Contemporary Dutch Cityscape Oilpainting
By Richard van Mensvoort
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
This painting is painted by Dutch artist Richard van Mensvoort (1972)
Already as a child, was interested with drawing anything that caught his eye. People, animals, everyday life…...
Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
The 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Insured Global Delivery