Yale Center for British Art, Given by Paul Mellon in memory of his friend James Cox Brady, Yale College, Class of 1929
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1976.7.86
Gallery Label:
In 1769–70, Thomas Bradford published a set of prints after the shooting series, in which the engravings (by William Woollett) were accompanied by verses. The story told in verse helps us to understand how Stubbs’s original paintings might have been seen and enjoyed by his contemporaries. The second painting of the series shows the huntsmen and their hounds on the trail. Whereas they prepared to set out for the hunt in the “Grey-ey’d Morn’s uncertain light,” it is now midday, when “Bright Sol’s all [cheering] Beams illume the Day.” The description of light in these verses underlines the importance of the sense of sight, which is gradually enhanced as the day progresses. The sun is now almost overhead, allowing the huntsmen and their dogs to better spot their quarry. The verses also refer to the sense of smell: the hounds “shuff the Air, now scent the tainted ground.” Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
