Arthur John Elsley

Acquired in London (circa 1930s)
Thence by descent 

Terry Parker, Golden Hours, the Paintings of Arthur J. Elsley, 1860-1952, Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset, 1998, p. 41, color chromolithograph illustrated p. 64

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting has been quite recently restored and although the restoration perhaps does not eliminate all of the cracks and old pentimentis, it is very serviceable as far as it goes and the picture could bee hung as is. The canvas is unlined and has never been removed from its original stretcher. There are two or three paint losses in the snow on the far left which have been restored and a few cracks around the children and the dog. However, the faces are all undamaged, which in itself is unusual for Elsley's work, and the freshness of the palette and the effectiveness of the cleaning is a great benefit.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Children figure prominently in nineteenth century art and literature. Indeed, the Victorian period was a golden age for children, particularly those of bourgeois and aristocratic families. There were important publications dedicated to young readers, and children themselves served as great protagonists in contemporary novels. Children were accorded a profound amount of attention; furthermore, the demographics of the years from 1800 to 1914 suggest that one third of the British population during those years consisted of children under the age of fourteen. According to art historian Susan Casteras, myriad books on child-rearing were published, and Victorian pictorial representations of childhood centered on "the child's role in the family sphere, as a moral force in society, and his or her functions in the setting of home, school, work, and play" (Victorian Childhood, New York, 1986). It is also important to note that paintings of this period that deal with themes of childhood were often geared to "the enjoyment and emotions of adults, typically for exhibition at the Royal Academy or similar institutions." (Victorian Childhood).

Arthur Elsley best satisfied the Victorians hunger for pictures of their children with images of rosy-cheeked, angelic-looking boys and girls, happily playing with their faithful family pets. Known in his early career for skilled depictions of canine and equestrian subjects, Elsley soon turned to childhood imagery and merry countryside scenes, a shift due largely to the influence of portraitist Frederick Morgan. The two artists shared a studio in 1889 and mutually benefited from each other's artistic specialties. While Elsley painted many of the animals in his collaborations with Morgan, he witnessed the commercial success of Morgan's happy childhood scenes. Elsley promptly followed suit, incorporating bright-eyed boys and girls together with their pets in lively, large-scale compositions. 

Evocative of childhood innocence, Weatherbound presents an endearing narrative of two rosy-cheeked sisters and their beloved pet collie. Taking shelter from the gently falling snow inside an old wooden barrel – a "three musketeers" of sorts – they create a charming snapshot of the playfulness of youth. It is one example of many from Elsley's oeuvre that handles the theme of siblings. Here the elder sister helps pull a shawl around herself, her younger sister, and even their pet collie, to shield them all from the cold. According to Casteras, "the sister played a vital role in the Victorian family and was constantly encouraged to be a paragon of usefulness and selflessness...one obvious aspect of female role-playing reflected in art involved the inculcation of social values of wife and mother; the image of the maternal little girl taking care of her sibling, pet, or doll was commonplace" (Victorian Childhood, p. 5). As playful in subject as it is whimsical in detail, Weatherbound evinces the very qualities that contributed to Elsley's popularity in late Victorian England.