Lot 118: Attr. Horatio Henry Couldery (1832 - 1918)

Attr. Horatio Henry Couldery (United Kingdom, 1832 - 1918)" Miss Astor's" Pets. Depicting a Pug and a cat seated on a well detailed chair. Titled and pencil signed verso. Watercolor/Goauche. Sight size: 11 x 18 inches. English animal painter and illustrator noted especially for his depictions of domestic cats, kittens and dogs. He was born in Lewisham, London, and trained as a cabinetmaker before abandoning that trade to study art at the Royal Academy of Arts, and exhibited there as well as at the British Institution, the Royal Society of British Artists gallery in Suffolk Street, and other notable galleries both in the capital and the regions. In 1861 he exhibited his first piece at the Royal Academy, entitled "On Dangerous Ground." This painting, which features two tabby kittens discovering a table with fish, is in the collection at Glanmore National Historic Site in Belleville, Ontario Canada. Glanmore has an artifact collection known as the Couldery Collection. Horatio H. Couldery's brother and sister-in-law Bertram and Cecilia Couldery travelled to Belleville in the 1880's and kept a second home there. Their collection of fine art, decorative objects and furniture was given to the City of Belleville in the 1950s and is housed at Glanmore National Historic Site. The collection includes 42 paintings by Horatio Henry Couldery, and is considered to be the world's largest collection of his work held in public trust.