Circa 1843 Signed Charles Bilger Spalding Chestnut Hunter British Equestrian Oil Painting

Details

Description

1843 Charles Bilger Spalding Chestnut Hunter British Equestrian Oil Painting
Signed Early Victorian Sporting Portrait of a Chestnut Hunter in … Read more 1843 Charles Bilger Spalding Chestnut Hunter British Equestrian Oil Painting
Signed Early Victorian Sporting Portrait of a Chestnut Hunter in a Stable

Highlights
• Charles Bilger Spalding (British, 1810–1871)
• A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable
• Signed and dated 1843
• Original oil on canvas
• Early Victorian British equestrian and sporting painting
• Mature chestnut hunter portrayed within an atmospheric stable interior
• Painted during Spalding’s early documented career
• Royal Academy exhibitor from 1840
• Documented association with sporting publishers S. & J. Fuller
• Related sporting work represented in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
• Mallams, Oxford provenance
• Canvas 53 cm wide × 41 cm high
• Framed 66.5 cm wide × 54 cm high × 2.5 cm deep
• Later decorative gilt moulded frame
• Particularly suited to equestrian, country-house, library and collected interiors

Introduction
A richly atmospheric signed and dated 1843 equestrian portrait by British sporting painter Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871), depicting a chestnut hunter standing quietly within its stable.
The painting combines the established tradition of British horse portraiture with an intimate and restrained composition. Rather than presenting the excitement of the hunting field, Spalding concentrates upon the animal itself.
The horse’s glowing chestnut coat creates the principal focus, contrasting with the quieter ochres, creams, greys and earthy browns of the stable. Its attentive eye gives the otherwise tranquil composition a distinct sense of individual character.
Painted only three years after Spalding’s first recorded Royal Academy exhibition, the work belongs to the formative period of his documented career as a painter of sporting and country subjects.

Catalogue Details
Artist: Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871)
Title: A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable
Date: 1843
School: British
Period: Early Victorian / mid-19th century
Medium: Oil on canvas
Signature: Signed
Date inscription: Dated 1843
Subject: Mature chestnut hunter standing within a stable
Canvas: 53 cm wide × 41 cm high
Frame: Later decorative gilt moulded frame

Catalogue Note
Spalding positions the hunter laterally across the composition, allowing its elegant proportions to establish a strong horizontal rhythm.
Rich chestnut, russet and mahogany tones describe the body, while carefully positioned highlights articulate the neck, shoulder, barrel and hindquarters.
The visible eye turns subtly towards the viewer, lending personality to the otherwise composed pose.
The stable is deliberately understated. Muted architectural passages create an atmospheric setting without competing with the horse for attention.
Across the foreground, loose strokes of ochre, cream and brown evoke scattered straw.
The result combines the decorative appeal of a traditional country-house sporting painting with the intimacy of an individual animal portrait.
The Chestnut Hunter and Stable Setting
The horse is appropriately catalogued as a mature chestnut hunter.
Its developed physique and balanced proportions are consistent with the sporting horses traditionally associated with British hunting and country life.
No independent documentary evidence presently establishes the horse’s individual name, precise breed or historic owner.
The stable location is similarly unidentified.
Spalding’s decision to portray the animal at rest is central to the painting’s character. Removed from the activity of the hunt, the horse becomes an individual subject in its own right.

Colour and Technique
Warm colour is fundamental to the painting’s visual appeal.
Chestnut, mahogany and russet define the horse, while softer ochres, browns, creams and greys establish the stable interior.
Spalding concentrates his most detailed modelling upon the animal. Controlled tonal transitions and highlights give volume to the musculature and suggest the sheen of its coat.
The background is more broadly handled, creating depth while allowing the horse to remain visually dominant.
Dating the Painting
The painting is dated 1843.
Mallams, Oxford, catalogued the work as A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable, signed and dated 1843.
The date places it within an important early period in Spalding’s documented professional career.
He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840 and was already professionally associated with British sporting and equestrian imagery during the early 1840s.

Early Victorian Sporting Art
Equestrian portraiture formed an important element of nineteenth-century British country-house culture.
Valued hunters and riding horses could be commemorated as individual subjects, preserving both their appearance and their importance to their owners.
Spalding’s painting belongs firmly within this tradition.
Its absence of riders, hounds and expansive countryside gives it an unusually intimate character.
The Artist
Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871) was a British painter specialising in sporting and country subjects.
He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840.
Spalding also worked for the London sporting publishers S. & J. Fuller, including a portrait of Satirist, winner of the 1841 St Leger.
His documented oeuvre encompasses horses, hunting scenes, hounds and other aspects of nineteenth-century British country life.

Royal Academy Exhibition History
Spalding’s Royal Academy activity provides important context for the present work.
His first recorded exhibition took place in 1840.
The present painting was completed in 1843 and therefore belongs directly to the early period of his documented exhibition career.
Spalding is correctly described as a Royal Academy exhibitor rather than as an elected Royal Academician.
Sporting Publications and S. & J. Fuller
Spalding’s relationship with S. & J. Fuller demonstrates his involvement with the wider visual culture surrounding nineteenth-century British sport.
The publishers were particularly associated with racing, hunting and equestrian imagery.
Spalding’s documented portrait of Satirist, winner of the 1841 St Leger, provides especially relevant context for a horse portrait painted only two years later.
Museum Collections
Spalding’s sporting work is represented within British public collections.
The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, holds A Huntsman with His Horse and a Group of Hounds.
That museum-held composition presents the broader world of British hunting, while the present work offers the quieter experience of an individual horse within its stable.
Comparable Works
Spalding continued to explore horses and sporting subjects throughout the 1840s.
A particularly relevant comparison is The Meet of the Hambledon Hounds at Preshaw House, Hampshire, the Seat of Walter Long in 1844.
Painted only one year after the present portrait, the substantial composition demonstrates the breadth of Spalding’s equestrian practice during the same period.

Signature and Date
The painting is signed and dated.
Mallams catalogued the date as 1843.
The signed and dated character of the work, together with its documented auction attribution and relationship to Spalding’s established sporting oeuvre, supports the present catalogue identification.
No secure documentary evidence presently identifies the individual horse.

Provenance
Private collection, United Kingdom.
Mallams, Oxford; Affordable Art – Timed, January 2025; catalogued as Charles Bilger Spalding (1810–1871), A Chestnut Hunter in a Stable, signed and dated 1843, oil on canvas.
Acquired by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, 2025.
Original Mallams purchase documentation retained.

Dimensions
Framed:
Width: 66.5 cm / approximately 26.2 inches
Height: 54 cm / approximately 21.3 inches
Depth: 2.5 cm / approximately 1 inch
Canvas:
Width: 53 cm / approximately 20.9 inches
Height: 41 cm / approximately 16.1 inches
Frame
Presented in a later decorative gilt moulded frame.
The scrolling and foliate ornament provides an appropriately traditional presentation for the early Victorian subject and complements the warm chestnut palette.
The frame is not represented as original to the painting.
Minor marks, rubbing and surface variations are present consistent with manufacture, handling and use.


Collecting Interest
This signed and dated Spalding combines strong decorative qualities with documented historical context.
Its equestrian subject has enduring relevance to collectors of British sporting art, while the restrained stable setting and warm palette make it equally effective within sophisticated traditional and contemporary interiors.
The early 1843 date, Royal Academy context and documented Mallams provenance add further scholarly interest.

Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, exhibition history and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.

Attribution and Research
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis, dating and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available physical evidence, historic inscriptions, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.

These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance, identity of the horse, stable location or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.

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