Arthur John Elsley 1860-1952

Sale, Sotheby's, London 1st. October 1986, lot 329, as Mischief

Sale, Christie's, London 13th. November 1993, lot 210, as Caught in the Act

Terry Parker, Golden Hours. The Paintings of Arthur J. Elsley 1860-1952, 1998, p. 29.

STRUCTURE: Unlined. SURFACE: The paint surface is slightly damaged where the frame has rubbed against the canvas, especially along the top edge. However, the canvas appears to be clean and stable. There are some tiny white marks in the top third of the painting; these are either minute scratches or white spots on the surface. UV LIGHT: Under UV light retouchings appear along the top stretcher line. There are spots of flecked retouching on the girl's face and her clothes, and on the dog's body. There has been stronger restoration around the hat and a few further small areas of retouching elsewhere. FRAME: Contained in modern plaster moulded gilt painted frame. COLOUR COMPARISON: The original is slightly lighter that the catalogue illustration suggests.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Arthur John Elsley was born in London on 20^th November 1860.  After training at the Royal Academy Schools he made a living painting commissioned portraits of human, equestrian, and canine subjects.  In 1889 he joined the studio of established artist, and leading exponent of juvenile scenes, Fred Morgan (1847-1927).  Morgan believed in the old adage every picture tells a story.  Elsley now turned his portraiture skills to successful story telling.  He began by painting children with a pet, or pets and other animals.  Here he is displaying his talent for capturing movement, and the joy in the humorous moment, carefully observing the comic retreat of the chickens.

Fox Terriers, collies, and St. Bernards were Elsley's favourite canine models in the last decade of the 19^th century.  Terriers and their pups appear in numerous of his paintings including Wait A Minute 1893, Good-bye 1894, Breaking Them In 1895, and Safe Quarters circa 1895.

The same girl and smooth-haired fox terrier appear in another humorous scene painted around the same time.  It was reproduced as a colour print entitled Second Thoughts.  The girl is holding her pet up to a cat on a wall, who is hissing - jealously guarding a lobster claw meal.

Elsley exhibited one work at the Royal Academy in 1894 and two in 1895, but not this one.  It may have been a commission as there is no exhibition record of this painting.

We are very grateful to Terry Parker for preparing this catalogue entry.