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Lot Essay
Highland Cattle has an intriguing history. It was reputedly commissioned by Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster (1795-1869) who requested a portrait of his Highland Cattle. His patronage is said to have been terminated, however, when Huggins charged a fee which he considered exorbitant. The artist would not modify his price, and sold the painting to another client.
Huggins was certainly an eccentric, capable of strong opinions. Commenting on his more famous contemporary, Huggins exclaimed: 'Landseer! If I'd had that man through my hands for three weeks, I'd have made a man of him!'
Huggins' belligerence obscured a resourceful spirit. An early achiever, the artist was awarded a prize for his design, Adam's Vision of the
Death of Abel, when he was just fifteen, and began exhibiting at the Liverpool Academy that same year.
Although he deviated into history painting and portraiture, it is in animal subjects that Huggins excelled. The present picture belongs to a group of cattle paintings (see also: Sotheby's, London, 23 June 1981 lot 170, which is very comparable; and Sotheby's, London, 20 June 1972, lot 160). The understanding of anatomy is notable (Huggins studied his subjects from life, and paid frequent visits to the Liverpool zoological gardens). Huggins' technique conveyed his sympathetic realism. He painted on millboard, as he disliked canvas, and laid transparent layers over a white ground.
Huggins remained loyal to his native city throughout his life. To some degree, this could be said to account for his comparative obscurity in relation to Landseer; however it also meant he accrued local support. His achievement was recognised on a wider scale, too; E. Rimbault Dibdin praised Huggins in his Art Journal article (1904; Art Journal, pp. 219-21): 'Both as an executant in paint, and as a consummate expert in knowledge of animal form and character, Huggins was qualified to out-distance both Landseer and Ansdell'.
Huggins was certainly an eccentric, capable of strong opinions. Commenting on his more famous contemporary, Huggins exclaimed: 'Landseer! If I'd had that man through my hands for three weeks, I'd have made a man of him!'
Huggins' belligerence obscured a resourceful spirit. An early achiever, the artist was awarded a prize for his design, Adam's Vision of the
Death of Abel, when he was just fifteen, and began exhibiting at the Liverpool Academy that same year.
Although he deviated into history painting and portraiture, it is in animal subjects that Huggins excelled. The present picture belongs to a group of cattle paintings (see also: Sotheby's, London, 23 June 1981 lot 170, which is very comparable; and Sotheby's, London, 20 June 1972, lot 160). The understanding of anatomy is notable (Huggins studied his subjects from life, and paid frequent visits to the Liverpool zoological gardens). Huggins' technique conveyed his sympathetic realism. He painted on millboard, as he disliked canvas, and laid transparent layers over a white ground.
Huggins remained loyal to his native city throughout his life. To some degree, this could be said to account for his comparative obscurity in relation to Landseer; however it also meant he accrued local support. His achievement was recognised on a wider scale, too; E. Rimbault Dibdin praised Huggins in his Art Journal article (1904; Art Journal, pp. 219-21): 'Both as an executant in paint, and as a consummate expert in knowledge of animal form and character, Huggins was qualified to out-distance both Landseer and Ansdell'.