Thomas Blinks

Michael Newman
Private collector, United Kingdom (acquired circa 1950)
Thence by descent

This painting is not lined and the colors are clean and bright. Under UV, particular dots and dashes of inpainting fluoresce in the sky, as well as possible reinforcement to some of the shaded areas in the foreground, and in particular the area under the lower dog's neck.
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Thomas Blinks is best known for his hunting and racing scenes and dog pictures.  Despite paternal opposition to his early interest in art, and a fruitless apprenticeship with a tailor, Blinks finally followed his artistic leanings.  Although he received no formal training, he gained an understanding of horse anatomy and action from observation at Tattersalls.

Blinks first exhibited at the Dudley Gallery in 1881, the Royal Society of British Artists in 1882, and regularly at the Royal Academy from 1883 to 1910.  His paintings are much admired for their combination of accuracy of observation with freedom of brushwork and a polished finish. Blinks was particularly good at conveying the pose and psychology of sporting dogs at work.

The work of Thomas Blinks is represented in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen; Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, and Preston Manor, Brighton.