Arthur John Elsley (British, 1861-1952)
His First Shot
signed and dated 'Arthur J. Elsley/1903' (lower left)
oil on canvas
109.5 x 84cm (43 1/8 x 33 1/16in).
Footnotes:
Provenance
With Richard Green Fine Art, London.
Private Collection, UK.

Literature
T. Parker, Golden Hours: the paintings of Arthur J. Elsley, Yeovil, 1998, p.96, illustrated in colour, p.75.

There are few British painters of this period who capture more beautifully the carefree days of childhood for the wealthy landed and middle classes of late Victorian and Edwardian England as Arthur John Elsley. His First Shot is an intimate and simple painting; produced four years earlier than Love at First Sight, it depicts a young boy standing next to a seated gamekeeper who is steadying the barrel of a gun as the boy nervously prepares to pull the trigger. Two spaniels look up expectedly as the young 'master' takes another step towards adulthood. This is a quintessentially British picture completely of its time.

Terry Parker notes that the present lot is unusual in not featuring a girl and also comments that the feather in the boy's cap is reminiscent of another great Victorian genre painter, Charles Burton Barber1.

1T. Parker, Golden Hours: the paintings of Arthur J. Elsley, Yeovil, 1998, p.96.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR
AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.