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Lot Essay
Born in Norfolk, the son of the artist, Henry William Emms, as a young man, John, worked as a studio assistant to the famous Pre-Raphaelite painter Lord Leighton. While working for Leighton, he went to Lyndhurst in Hampshire to help execute the fresco of 'The Ten Virgins' in Lyndhurst Parish Church, where he painted an owl, the symbol of sloth.
Emms first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1866, and in 1872 he returned to Lyndhurst in the New Forest. An avid huntsman, he quickly found clients for his work and specialised in studies of foxhounds and hunters at kennels and hunts in Hampshire. He maintained a studio in London for a while before settling permanently in Lyndhurst. It is said that Emms cut a Bohemian figure, dressing in a long black coat and wide brimmed black hat. When he sold a picture he would take his family to London where they would stay in the best hotels. His profligacy caught up with him, however, and at various times he would trade paintings with local merchants in lieu of payment for their services.
Emms first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1866, and in 1872 he returned to Lyndhurst in the New Forest. An avid huntsman, he quickly found clients for his work and specialised in studies of foxhounds and hunters at kennels and hunts in Hampshire. He maintained a studio in London for a while before settling permanently in Lyndhurst. It is said that Emms cut a Bohemian figure, dressing in a long black coat and wide brimmed black hat. When he sold a picture he would take his family to London where they would stay in the best hotels. His profligacy caught up with him, however, and at various times he would trade paintings with local merchants in lieu of payment for their services.