The Bramshill Hunt. Note 2

Many sporting pictures tell an obvious story. Others, of which portraits form the majority are seemingly bland records. However, there may be more than meets the eye in their painting. A picture of Sir John Cope's, or The Bramshill Hunt, is one in the latter category. It was painted (and copied) by Edmund Havell (1819-1898), a member of a large family of artists headed by the watercolourist William Havell (1782-1857). Edmund Havell painted the Bramshill Hunt for Sir John Cope in 1837 when the artist was just eighteen years old. A version of this scene is about 37 x 58 inches in size and shows two mounted huntsmen, a groom holding a third horse, and three top-hatted gentlemen in full hunting rig standing on the broad steps of the entrance to Bramshill house, Hampshire. The men are said to be Sir John Cope, Mr Thomas Peers Williams and Captain Edward Gordon RN. Thirteen hounds are portrayed, and like the humans, seem very posed and static. When the painting was sold in New York in 1986 it was given a provenance as being in Lord Brocket's sale in 1952. This was not so.

The Brockett painting is 86 x 110 inches, and is described in an 1883 inventory of pictures at Bramshill as the: "Meet of Sir John Cope's Hounds at Bramshill, with a view of the front of the house, and portraits of Sir John Cope Bart., T. Peers Williams Esq., Gerrard Blisson Wharton Esq., and (sitting in a chair) John Warde, of Squerries [Kent] Esq. The servants, horses and hounds are all portraits, 1837."

The composition in the centre of each painting is the same, but the larger picture has had canvas added above and to the left (another huntsman and seven more gambolling hounds), and to the right (the seated John Warde and one more lively hound). Captain Edward Gordon has been replaced by Gerrard Wharton.

I am very grateful to a family relation in Scotland who sent me a transcript of a letter written by Edmund Havell sixty years after painting this picture, sent to Sir Anthony Cope in 1897. This explains the differences between the two pictures described:

"He [Sir John Cope] requested me to paint a group of himself, some friends, and horses, and hounds, Huntsman, 'Whips', Studgroom, at the front door of that beautiful piece of Architecture. When the picture was finished he was incensed to find the top of the screen [of the facade of the doorway], and the three crowns thereon, were not introduced. Explanations were to no avail, nothing could do but that the screen and crowns be shown. So the only alternative was to enlarge the picture, originally it was about 40 x 50 inches. It was enlarged to its prsent size. The architecture added and also another friend introduced, a Mr James [sic] Ward (sitting in a chair in the foreground). The enlarging business was clumsily done, and I fear the 'join' shows in an unsightly manner. I think I dated the picture 1838 [in fact, 1837]. ........................................... When I painted the big picture I was an uneducated artist 18 years of age, and I know that the picture as a work of art, is only too dreadful."

I believe Havell must have painted the smaller picture (copying his original composition) for one of the three gentlemen standing on the steps - perhaps Captain Gordon or Gerrard Wharton. He also painted another view of the Bramshill Hunt, this time in the park with the house in the background. This painting was commissioned by Peers Williams, with Captain Gordon re-appearing in place of Wharton.

Some years ago I was given the opportunity to see the large picture, decribed by its owner as being in a sad state - as foreseen by Havell. Unfortunately I did not take up the offer then. Recently I bought a near contemporary pencilled 'key' for this painting. It is a copy, and the name of its author has been half-scrubbed off its back. Sadly I have now lost contact with the present owner of the large 'Bramshill Hunt', but would happily give my key for an opportunity to see the painting that has given me so much interest.