The Red Lion Inn

Shayer's Inn scenes were amongst his most popular subjects with his Victorian patrons and remain so today. The genre can be traced back to the Dutch 17th century painters, and reached its pinacle in England through engravings after George Morland. In 1806 Sir David Wilkie contributed to this tradition with his first Royal Academy exhibit entitled The Village Politicians which became a popular image through engravings and was a particular inspiration to Shayer. However, it was not until 1833 that Shayer exhibited the first painting within this genre, entitled An Alehouse-Door. Shayer rarely was specific with his titles and the present picture has not been traced amongst his recorded works. It is possible that it was sold at Christie's, London, 2 February 1923 as A Village Festival for 294 gns to Frost and Reed but this has yet to be confirmed.

We are grateful to Brian Stewart for his help in the preparation of this catalogue entry.