Auction of Dogs in Art & Sporting Art at Doyle

On Tuesday, February 13 at 10am, Doyle will hold an auction of Dogs in Art® including The Sporting Art Collection of James W. Smith. Coinciding with the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the auction offers over 200 lots of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and other objects devoted to dogs, horses and sporting art.

A special section of the auction is devoted to The Sporting Art Collection of James W. Smith (1941-2018), master breeder of smooth fox terriers and board chairman of the American Kennel Club. In 1956, James W. Smith entered his first dog show, and by the time he was honored by the American Kennel Club as Breeder of the Year in 2012, he had produced more than 50 champions, Best in Show dogs, national and regional specialty winners, and numerous group winners. An American Kennel Club judge and a delegate for 26 years, he was chairman of its board from 1994-95. He also was president of the Dalmatian Club of America and the American Fox Terrier Club, which honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

One of the most widely known dog painters, Arthur Wardle (1860–1949) was just 16 when he first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, eventually showing 100 paintings there during his life. He is particularly known for his depictions of terriers, such as Two Wire Haired Fox Terriers in a Wood (est. $10,000-15,000) and Terriers on the Scent, 1900 (est. $8,000-12,000).

French artist Charles-Olivier de Penne (1831-1897) studied art in Paris under Léon Cogniet and Charles-Emile Jacque. He initially specialized in historical paintings, winning the Prix de Rome for his depiction of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, before focusing on sporting paintings, which were highly sought-after by collectors during his lifetime. Hounds in the Snow is a marvelous example of the work for which he is best known (est. $8,000-12,000).

Born into a family of sporting painters, British-American artist Maud Earl (1864-1943) learned animal anatomy at a young age from her father, artist George Earl. She exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon, during an era with few women artists among her peers. English Terriers on the Moor (est. $6,000-9,000) and Two Smooth Fox Terriers in a Wood, 1894 (est. $3,000-5,000) exhibit her mastery of canine anatomy.

A painter and a sportsman, German-American artist Edmund Henry Osthaus (1858-1928) is best known for his paintings depicting sporting dogs, such as The First Lesson – A Setter and Her Six Pups (est. $30,000-50,000) and A Young Pointer Receives a Training Lesson from its Master (est. $10,000-15,000).

The son of artist Henry William Emms, John Emms (1844-1912) was an avid sportsman and received frequent commissions for paintings of dogs and horses from contacts he made in the field. He developed a characteristic loose style that allowed him to portray animals with vitality, as seen in The Errant Hound (Horses and Hound) (est. $5,000-7,000).

A native of Buffalo, New York, sculptor and polo player Charles Cary Rumsey (1879-1922) graduated from Harvard and studied art at the Boston Art School before entering the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Returning to New York in 1910, he achieved success creating sculptures for important private and civic commissions, including the frieze on the triumphal arch of the Manhattan Bridge. His equestrian bronze, “Trillion” Mr. Hayes, descended in the family of the artist (est. $5,000-7,000).

The exhibition will open with a preview reception on Friday, February 8 co-hosted with ARF – Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, Inc. Details at Doyle.com.