Howard L. Battle, Althea and Courtly Dee

Howard L. Battle, Althea and Courtly Dee:

Howard L. Battle (Amer., 1931-2002), “Althea and Courtly Dee”, two famed thoroughbreds in paddock, 1996, oil on canvas; Courtly Dee was a renowned broodmare and Althea one of her foals

sight: 24 x 30 in., frame: 29.5 x 35.5 in.

Provenance: Property from the Estate of Helen Kleberg Groves, horsewoman and cattle rancher (1927-2022), San Antonio, Texas

Courtly Dee was purchased for $900,000 by the partnership of Helen Groves, Helen Alexander (Groves’ daughter), and David Aykroyd. Courtly Dee produced another 11 foals for her new owners before dying in her paddock at King Ranch in August 1995, three years after the birth of her last foal. She was buried at Helen Alexander’s Middlebrook Farm near Lexington, Kentucky.

Althea was bred and owned by the partnership of Helen Groves and daughter Helen Alexander, and was the American champion 2-year-old filly in 1983