In a letter dated August 18, 1995, Arline Meyer writes, "The composition, the treatment of the landscape (with its combination of soft Arcadian foliage on one side and a blasted but regenerating tree on the other), the treatment of the figures and the animation of the beagle pack, and the very distinctive quality of a timeless country scene that is nonetheless convincing in its naturalism, all seem right. The face of the boy...most likely was added by another painter, and that may well have been Thomas Gibson, a portraitist who sometimes collaborated with Wootton. I would date the picture c. 1735-1740... Wootton painted a number of portraits in a comparable 'after the hunt' format in the course of his long career. An early example c. 1714 is at Ragley Hall, which shows Francis Seymour, Lord Conway, after a successful deer hunt--on his mount, gesturing with his riding crop, and with hounds. A later example of the 1740s, after a hare hunt, is the portrait group presumed to be of Thomas 4th Duke of Leeds and his family (Hornby Castle)--is very similar to The Young Master with his Hounds in mood.. I know of two other portraits of children by Wootton which include similar dock-tail ponies with an attendant groom. The Young Master with his Hounds, however, presents the young boy in a far more mature manner; paintings of Noel Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort, at age 5 (1749, Badminton), and of Lady Caroline Lennox at age 10 (1733, Goodwood), portray the children as more dependent on a custodian groom."

We are grateful to Arline Meyer for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.