A beautiful painting of three cherubs or putti with flower garlands by Charles Augustus Henry Lutyens. The winged infants are shown holding rose blooms as they rest on a cloud.

Charles Augustus Henry Lutyens was born in 1829 the son of Charles Lutyens, who was the Deputy Commissary General of the Forces and Frances Jane Fludger. With his family connection to the military it was no surprise that he joined the army in 1848 as Ensign, serving in the 20th Foot Regiment in Montreal, Canada. Whilst there, he met Mary Teresa Gallwey, daughter of Major Gallwey of Ireland and sister of Thomas Gallwey, the Governor of Montreal. They married on 28 November, 1852 and the couple went on to have 14 children in total. He returned to England having been promoted to Captain and lived in Hampshire where was appointed Instructor of Musketry to the regiment.

He retired from the army in 1855, moving to London in the same year where he lived at 4 Allen Terrace, Kensington. He began pursuing an artistic career and most likely took art and sculpture lessons as well as studying animal anatomy. He made his debut at the British Institution from 1860 and by 1861 was living at 6 Palace Garden Terraces in Kensington. In 1862, he began exhibiting at the Royal Academy, where he continued to exhibit regularly until 1903. He initially painted portraits but then developed his subjects to include animals, usually horses and hunting scenes. Many of the people in his paintings were notable horse owners such as King Edward and the Duke of Westminster as well as military figures. He is known to have sculpted clay models of animals which he used during his creative process. He also produced a number of scenes with cherubs which he became well known for.

By 1865, he had moved to 16 Onslow Square, where a number of artists had studios and became friends with the painter Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873). One of his son's, the architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869-1944) was named after him. He also exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery, Dudley Gallery, Royal Hibernian Academy, Manchester City Art Gallery and the Society of British Artists. Lutyens also became a member of the Burlington Fine Arts Society. Around 1870 the couple purchased a second home, The Cottage in Thursley, Surrey and split their time between the two locations. At some point after 1905, Lutyens gave up his London property to live in Thursley. He died at home on 19 May, 1915.

His work is represented in many public art collections including the City Hall Cardiff, English Heritage, Fylde Borough Council, National Trust for Scotland, National War Museum, the Royal Collection Trust, Sheffield Museum, Somerset Military Museum and Weston Park.

© Benton Fine Art