WW1 Charleroi Great Retreat Oil Painting Runaway Horses By Edith Alice Simkins





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Description


Edith Alice Simkins (1870–1949) — “Runaway Horses” (1939) French Dragoons | Western Front | WW1 Battle (Charleroi era of the Great Retreat)

Subject & Medium
A large, dramatic early-WWI cavalry retreat oil masterpiece scene, **believed to depict French cavalry Dragoons—**during the opening Western Front campaign (Aug–Sep 1914), in the Charleroi era of the Great Retreat.
Medium: Oil on canvas.
(This identification is offered as historical context based on visual interpretation; the painting is not inscribed to a specific engagement.)

Composition & Technique
Simkins builds the picture as an “after” moment rather than a heroic charge—an approach that makes this work unusually compelling and emotionally modern. Your eye is seized by the central chestnut horse, thrust forward in full flight: musculature is convincingly modelled, tack is carefully described, and the animal’s posture communicates urgency and fear.
To the right, a white horse rears, introducing a vertical shock that heightens the drama, while riderless mounts surge through smoke and dust into the middle distance. The damaged landscape and broken treeline intensify the atmosphere of pressure and retreat.
What elevates the painting beyond decorative military imagery is the narrative choice: no riders remain. Empty saddles and scattered kit turn the horses into the primary protagonists—witnesses of catastrophe—so the work reads as a psychological study of conflict and survival rather than pageantry.

About the Battle (context)
The work is believed to evoke the opening Western Front phase of WWI—late August 1914—commonly discussed in connection with Charleroi and the unfolding Great Retreat. Rather than depicting the charge itself, Simkins focuses on the moment when cavalry tradition collides with modern firepower and the scene becomes flight, loss, and disarray—an interpretation that aligns strongly with the alternate historic title “After the Charge.”

Historical Significance
This is an important Simkins painting for three reasons that matter to serious collectors:
Scale and ambition: Simkins’ Runaway Horses is recorded as a substantial oil on canvas a “statement” size within her output rather than a minor cabinet work. Rare WWI narrative emphasis: Many war pictures trade in romance or ceremony. This one centres on the aftermath, using riderless horses and abandoned kit to convey the cost of early mechanised warfare—psychologically powerful, and scarce in the market. Painted in 1939: Created at the threshold of another world war, the painting reads as interwar reflection—WWI remembered at the very moment Europe tipped again into conflict. That context adds gravity and collector interest.

About the Artist
Edith Alice Simkins is documented as a member and exhibitor at the Ipswich Art Club (1935–1949).
suffolkartists.co.uk The same record specifically lists that in 1943 she exhibited an oil titled “After the Charge”, supporting the historic alternate title within her documented oeuvre.
suffolkartists.co.uk Her market visibility is further reinforced by appearances at major venues, including Christie’s, which has offered a signed Simkins oil (A Bay Hunter, dated 1921).

Signed
Signed “E. A. Simkins” and dated 1939 in the lower corner.

Framed
Presented in a traditional gilt frame — a period-respectful, collector-appropriate presentation with strong wall presence.

Dimensions Framed
Height: (87 cm)
Width: (137 cm)
Depth: (4 cm)

Provenance (full known trail + exhibition record)
1939 — Painted by Edith Alice Simkins; recorded in artist references as Runaway Horses (oil on canvas, 73.7 × 124.5 cm).
suffolkartists
1943 — Exhibition activity record: Simkins is listed exhibiting an oil titled “After the Charge” (historic alternate title usage).
1949–2012 — Private ownership (untraced in public record). No named collectors are disclosed in accessible sources (common for provincial British oils of the period).
13 Jul 2012 — Market record via MutualArt: Runaway Horses (1939), oil on canvas, 29 × 49 in, signed; recorded sale date Jul 13, 2012 (sale details subscriber-only).
30 Jun 2021 — Reeman Dansie: offered under the alternate title “After the Charge” (paired lot); catalogue note states it is believed these works were exhibited with Ipswich Art Club in 1942 and 1943;
25 Jan 2022 — Hatton Garden Auctions Ltd (London) via The Saleroom: catalogued as “LARGE OIL PAINTING OF BATTLE SCENE BY E A SIMKINS 1939”, auction date 25 Jan 2022, hammer price not published, approx frame size 53.5" × 34".
The Saleroom 25 Jan 2022 Purchased from Hatton Garden Auctions Ltd
The Saleroom (NY Elizabeth Auction) — MutualArt’s After the Charge entry lists a sale date of May 28, 2023 and shows NY Elizabeth Auction in its “Recent Lots” section.
2022–present — Curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD (specialist selection, documentation, and presentation).
Collector note: Auction platforms and market databases typically do not publish buyer identities; therefore, “named collectors” cannot be responsibly claimed from these records alone.

Exhibition History
Ipswich Art Club (1935–1949) — Edith Alice Simkins is documented as a member/exhibitor.
suffolkartists
1943 (final phrasing): Exhibited at the Ipswich Art Club, Suffolk — Runaway Horses (exhibited under the title “After the Charge”). suffolkartists
Exhibited in January 2026 Famous Lord Hill Musuem

Why You’ll Love It
Museum-scale presence: over 4.5 feet wide framed—this commands a room
True narrative power: not a generic battle picture; it’s the psychologically intense “after” moment
Equestrian excellence: anatomy, tack, speed, and fear convincingly captured
Cross-collector category: WWI / military history + sporting/equestrian art + interwar British narrative painting
Confidence factors: signed/dated, documented artist record, exhibition linkage, and traceable auction trail.

Condition Report
Offered in fine used condition, commensurate with age:
Painting surface shows areas of paint loss/flaking, scuffs, foxing/staining, and surface scratches in places
Frame shows general wear, minor chips/scuffs, and evidence of historic touch-up/overpainting consistent with age and handling
(Please review photos carefully; additional close-ups available on request.)



Reserve: $9,720.00

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