Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, R.A.

Probably purchased directly from the artist by Edward John Coleman Esq. (1834-1885) of Stoke Park, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, by 1868;
Baron Albert Grant (born Abraham Gottheimer, 1831-1899) of Kensington and Horstead Hall in Norfolk, his sale Christie's, 28 April 1877, lots 191-2, Adversity sold for £1,480, Prosperity sold for £1,501 to 'White';
Christie's, London, 22 February 1918, sold for £430.10s to 'Sampson';
Purchased from William Sampson of The British Galleries in 1919 for £525 by a private collector and thence by descent until 1985;
Phillips, London, 19 November 1985, lot 19, where purchased by the present owner

London, Royal Academy, 1865, no.102 and no.112;
Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy, 1868, no.688 and no.720;
London, Royal Academy, The Works of the Late Sir Edwin Landseer RA, winter 1874, no.155 and no.158

James Dafforne, Pictures by Sir Edwin Landseer, Royal Academician. With Descriptions and a Biographic Sketch of the Painter, 1873, p.60;
Algernon Graves, Catalogue of the Works of the late Sir Edwin Landseer, 1874, p.34;
Frederick George Stephens, Memoirs of Sir Edwin Landseer, 1880, pp.140-1, 158;
Frederick George Stephens, Sir Edwin Landseer, 1880, p.107;
Richard Ormond, Sir Edwin Landseer, 1981, p.209

Both canvases have been lined. There is a fine craquelure pattern across the surfaces. They are slightly dirty and should benefit from light cleaning. PROSPERITY: Ultraviolet light reveals flecked retouchings through the sky, small areas of flecked infillings to the horses neck and barrel. A small area of retouching behind the horses back legs and a small area centre-right of the lower edge. Some frame abrasions and retouching along the right vertical edge. ADVERSITY: Ultraviolet light reveals an opaque varnish which makes the surface difficult to read conclusively but there is a pattern of infilling, particularly to the horse. Both contained in matching Victorian-style gilt frames.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

'In the latter we had a superbly elegant bay horse; his hide has an inner glow such as would delight Titian to paint it; he sniffs the air gladly and looks from on high far off; his limbs are perfectly formed, and his body is a model for a Greek sculptor... 'Adversity' gives the other side of the same medal. A cab-horse in a low inn-yard sniffs wearily at a mass of corn that is locked up; the shabby collar of servitude is about his neck, and, worse than all, has rubbed to bleeding some of that golden bay skin, which, a little too perfectly it may be, remains to the poor beast of all his beauty, pride and delight in life; he sniffs in vain, almost afraid to go too near the locked food, and feebly, apologetically, paws the stones with worn hoofs. The artist never told a tale better than by these pictures, and probably never painted a horse's hide better than that of the youthful model.' (Frederic George Stephens, Memoirs of Sir Edwin Landseer, 1880, pp.140-1)

Prosperity depicts a beautiful horse held by a smartly-dressed groom in a manicured estate the drive of which winds into the distance, waiting for his mistress and their morning ride. The mistress is not seen in the picture but is denoted by her basket of roses and sunhat placed beside her three pet dogs. In contrast to the pampered animals in Prosperity, Adversity depicts the hardship and cruelty of working life for horses in the nineteenth century. The cab-man has removed his horse's bridle and blinkers but failed to unburden the beast of its saddle or collar in his hurry to enjoy the pleasures of the public house. A rose, perhaps tucked into the horse's bridle by a kindly passenger earlier in the day, links the two paintings but in Adversity it is being nibbled by a rat, adding to the squalor of the horse's predicament. The horses have the same markings (to their hind legs and their heads), implying they are the same animal enjoying and suffering parallel fates. 

The first owner of the pair of paintings was Edward Coleman, a stock broker who had made his fortune in coalmining and had been able to retire aged twenty-nine in 1874 and purchase an estate in Buckinghamshire for £95,000 (the equivalent today would be £7million) and spent a further £200,000 on improvements. Coleman became one of Landseer's most avid collectors and a studio was built at Stoke Park for him to work on the many pictures he painted for his patron and friend. His collection of pictures by Landseer included Man Proposes, God Disposes (Royal Holloway College, Egham) and Well-Bred Sitters that Never say they are Bored (private collection), which depicts the same dog as the hound in Prosperity and it has been suggested that it was Coleman's dog. 

The next owner of Prosperity and Adversity was the flamboyant Irish-born businessman Albert Grant, who is best-known for purchasing Leicester Square in 1873 which he laid out at his own expense and gave as a gift to the people of London. He was made a Baron by Victor Emanuelle II of Italy but it was rumoured that he had paid for the honour. After the general election of 1874 when Grant was accused of bribing voters with gifts of money, meat and alcohol, Grant was unseated and ordered to pay expenses. His finances began to unravel and by 1876, following several disastrous business decisions, Grant began to be pursued by creditors. In 1877 he was declared bankrupt after losing most of the investment of over £83,000 he had made in a railway company and was forced to sell many of his assets including his seventeen paintings by Landseer. The Otter Hunt achieved the highest price of £5,000 followed by Prosperity and Adversity which sold for close to £3,000 for the pair. Grant attempted to recover his fortunes but was declared bankrupt a further two times and died in relative poverty. The downward spiral of his life demonstrated the difference between prosperity and adversity.