Provenance
John Page-Darby, by 1882.[1] (Sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 18 July 1892, no. 89); (Vokins); sold to (Wallis & Son, London); purchased 1893 by P.A.B. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from the Estate of P.A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] When he lent it to _Works by the Old Masters, and by Deceased Masters of the British School_, Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1882, no. 267.
Accession Number
1942.9.43
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 142.2 x 188 cm (56 x 74 in.) | framed: 185.4 x 229.9 x 10.8 cm (73 x 90 1/2 x 4 1/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Widener Collection
Tags
Painting Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Oil Painting Canvas British
Background & Context
Background Story
George Morland (1763-1804) was an English painter known for his genre scenes of rural life—hunting, farming, and village scenes—rendered with the naturalism and genre detail that distinguish English painting of the late 18th century. The Death of the Fox from c. 1791-94 depicts the climax of a fox hunt in the genre subject that was one of Morland's most popular. The painting shows the fox at the moment of death, surrounded by hounds and huntsmen, and the genre detail—the horses, hounds, and figures—demonstrates Morland's talent for depicting the English countryside and its sporting traditions with the naturalism that made his genre scenes among the most popular paintings in late 18th-century England.
Cultural Impact
The Death of the Fox is important in the history of English genre painting because it demonstrates the sporting subject that was one of the most popular genres in late 18th-century English painting. Morland's naturalistic treatment of the fox hunt—the genre detail of horses, hounds, and figures—shows the English tradition of sporting genre painting at its most accomplished, and the painting's popularity demonstrates the market for sporting subjects that would sustain English genre painting throughout the 19th century.
Why It Matters
The Death of the Fox is Morland's sporting genre at its most dramatic: the climax of the fox hunt rendered with the naturalism and genre detail that made his scenes of English country life among the most popular paintings in late 18th-century England. The c. 1791-94 painting demonstrates the sporting tradition at its most accomplished.
