Huntsmen and hounds in a wooded landscape

In his 1979 article, J.N.P. Watson praised this work for Wootton's ability to create such atmospheric paintings, that the viewer feels part of the scene: 'He produced such wonderful animation in his action scenes, that it is not difficult to conjure the sequels to the moments in time which his brushes captured during the early 18th century; to envisage yourself, for example, as a third horseman in [the present work] about to move on from that cover which was drawn blank' (op. cit., p. 1176).

John Wootton was the pre-eminent painter of sporting and landscape subjects for most of the eighteenth century. Little is known of his family and early life, although as a young boy he may have served as a page to Lady Anne Somerset, daughter of the Duke of Beaufort, on her marriage to Thomas, later 2nd Earl of Coventry in 1690. From these families he may have received encouragement to take up painting, and perhaps also an introduction to his teacher, the Dutch painter Jan Wyck (1652-1700). Wootton was in London by 1706, and was a founder member of the Academy of Painting and Drawing in 1711. Among Wootton's numerous patrons were King George II, Frederick, Prince of Wales, Sir Robert Walpole, and many of the most prominent members of the aristocracy of his day.