John Calcott Horsley R.A. 1817-1903

London, Royal Academy, 1878, no. 398 as The Salute

Henry Blackburn, Academy Notes: with 150 Illustrations, 120 Being Facsimiles of Sketches by the Artists, May 1878, illus. p. 40 (line drawing)

STRUCTURE The canvas has been relined and is slightly uneven in the upper right corner. CATALOGUE COMPARISON The illustration is broadly representative. PAINT SURFACE The paint surface is sound with a light even varnish. There is a small abrasion in the upper right corner and a minmal amount of surrounding paint loss. ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT UV light reveals traces of old overpainting in the sky, upper right, some minor spots of infilling to the clothes of the boy and lady in the lower left corner. FRAME Held in a painted plain frame in fair condition.
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A young cavalry officer on leave from his service has been wooing a pretty girl on a wooden bench beneath a large chestnut tree. He has brought gifts of silk dolls for her younger sisters, a diverting book for her father who is wandering in the parkland beyond and has removed his gloves to help her admiring brother to make a hobby-horse. Unfortunately his tryst has been interrupted by the approach of a higher ranking soldier who is making his compliments to the young woman. Protocol demands that the young suitor stands to attention to salute his rival for the affections of the young lady, but his concerned expression betrays his discomfort. The children and their pet dog are also nervous of the other man's attention and the little girl protectively clasps the leg of the officer whilst gently tugging at the skirt of her sister. Despite their concerns it would seem that the object of the men's attention is uninterested by the second man's approach and is content to embroider red hearts on to a ribbon. Such romantic subjects were particularly favoured by Horsley who was well known and popular as a painter of sentimental narratives and a stalwart of the Royal Academy. A similar subject entitled "The World Forgetting" Sunday Afternoon in Kensington Gardens, AD. 1780 was formerly in the McCormick collection of Victorian pictures (sold Sotheby's, New York, 28 February 1990, lot 127).