"I have a Notion... However Hard Work It Is..." Antique Engraving from the Sporting Notions series by Henry Alken, 1832

Sporting Notions

Title/Caption: "I have a Notion however hard work it is that this is the only way to get my lame horse home."

By Henry Alken (1785-1851) (after).
Publisher: Thomas McLean, London: 1832
Aquatint engravings printed in color, finished by hand

Price marked at $120 AUD each; we have seen prints from this series sold online for $300 USD each. 

Measurements:

Approx 39 by 33cm frame

Approx 27 by 19 cm image

Alken, a leading British sporting artist, explores the comic side of riding in this series of prints depicting the follies and foibles of aristocrats on their weekend outings. They are part of a larger movement of caricature prints lampooning British society that were published in England in the first half of the 19th Century, by artists such as Thomas Rowlandson.

Henry Thomas Alken was a painter and engraver, son of artist Samuel Alken. He worked in London and the provinces and was prolific in a variety of media, including painting, etching and watercolor. Trained as a miniature painter, his works always had a graphic precision. He is known for hunting, coaching, racing and other animal subjects. He was also employed by sporting periodicals as an illustrator and provided plates for the National Sports of Great Britain (London, 1821), “strengthening the market for his work in sporting circles, in particular the notorious clique of wealthy and reckless huntsmen who gathered at Melton Mowbray, Leicester” (Grove Dictionary of Art).

Fair to good condition; some soiling, particularly in corners. Colours still crisp. 

Reference:

“Henry Thomas Alken.” The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/00/0018/T001856.asp (10 May 2002).