Walter Williams

Pair of English 19th century landscapes with men fishing

1870

Samuel Henry Alken (1810–1894) Horse Racing Scene, Possibly the Epsom Derby Oil on board, unsigned Attributed, English school circa 1840 Presented in a later gilt frame with beaded inner edge This dynamic mid-19th century racing scene, attributed to Samuel Henry Alken—also known as Henry Alken Junior—captures the high-stakes moment just before the thundering release of horses and riders at the starting line. A tightly packed field of brightly jacketed jockeys leans forward with urgent anticipation, the taut muscles of their mounts echoing the gathering tension. In the foreground, a race marshal gestures dramatically to signal the start, his stance underscoring the energy about to be unleashed. Though unsigned, the work bears the unmistakable hallmarks of Samuel Henry Alken’s hand: vigorous composition, attention to equine form, and a sharp eye for the choreography of sport. The figures are finely modelled, the palette lively but grounded, and the setting—with its wooded backdrop, animated crowd, and distant grandstands—suggests a major 19th-century race meeting, possibly the Epsom Derby, a subject Alken is known to have returned to in several formats. The composition’s panoramic sweep and low horizon lend a cinematic quality, while the density of detail—each silken cap and coat, each bridle and plume—evokes the pageantry and social theatre of Britain’s sporting calendar at the height of its Regency and early Victorian splendour. A rare and spirited scene from the golden age of English sporting painting...

An English river landscape with Swans, boats, barges on the banks of the Thames. A very interesting river landscape composition of figures working on a boat, near a barge on the River Thames, London, circa 1885. Robert Hamilton...