A fine sporting horse portrait of a chestnut hunter named Bunty in a landscape by Thomas Percy Earl. The mare is shown standing sideways on in a field by a wooden fence. Her head is slightly turned towards the viewer to reveal a white stripe down her face. The portrait was painted in the same year of the artist’s marriage. Whilst little is known about the horse Bunty, the portrait was most likely commissioned by her owner perhaps to commemorate a racing or breeding success which would have occurred around the date of the painting.

Thomas Percy Earl was born in Marylebone, London on 11 March, 1874. He was the son of George Earl (1824-1908), a painter of sporting dogs and animals well-known for his head studies of champions and his second wife Frances Louise Rawlings. His uncle was Thomas Earl (1836-1885), the popular horse and dog painter and his older half-sister was the animal artist Maud Earl (1863-1943), renowned for her portraits of pure-bred dogs, including those belonging to Queen Victoria and other members of the royal family.

Earl lived with his family at 21 Newman Street, Marylebone, London and was taught by his father, who was also an active sportsman. Under his influence, his talent for painting horses was nurtured and developed and he became an accomplished artist. He signed his work T Percy Earl, Percy Earl or P Earl, using his middle name/initial to distinguish himself from his uncle.

After leaving school, he initially worked as an apprentice Mechanical Engineer before turning to art full time. George Earl’s links with sporting families gave him his first commissions and he earned a living painting horse and animal portraits for wealthy landowners. His reputation for high quality paintings of horses spread leading to commissions from eminent racehorse owners such as the 5th Earl of Rosebery, who was Prime Minister from 1894-5. During the early part of the 1900’s, Earl also contributed a number of equestrian illustrations and cartoons to Vanity Fair.

He married Kate Grace Burk in October 1916 and soon after the couple travelled to America where they lived for a time in New York. He spent the next few years travelling between the US and England where their two children were born. After around 1925, he remained in England where he settled The Beeches, Seend, Wiltshire with his family. In the final years of his life, he lived at Tau Cross in West Lavington, Wiltshire where he died on 17 November, 1947. He was buried at the Holy Cross Churchyard in Seend.

Earl became one of the most accomplished portraitists of the period with a free and strong style. As most of his work was based on commissions, there seems to have been little need for him to exhibit. However, the fine quality of his work with well-composed and natural compositions has continued to ensure his paintings find a ready market amongst collectors.

© Benton Fine Art