Richard Crawshay talking to his Gamekeeper by William Barraud - SOLD

William Barraud (1810-1850)

Richard Crawshay talking to his Gamekeeper in the Grounds of Ottershaw Park, Chertsey  

Signed and dated 1838

Oil on Canvas

105 x 134.5cm / 127 x 154 cm Framed

SOLD

Arthur Ackermann & Son Ltd, London, 1934;John Marquess of Bute (1881 - 1947), by family descent until 1999;Richard Green, London;Private Collection since 2000 Exhibited:London, Royal Academy, 1838, no. 461 (Scene in Ottershaw Park, Surrey, with Portraits).Richard Crayshaw (1786-1859) was the eldest son of the famous ironmaster William Crawshay (1764-1834) of Cyfarthfa Castle, Glamorgan and Stoke Newington, Middlesex, and his wife Eliza Couzens (d. 1825). The Crayshaw family owned the great ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil in south Wles, which had been founded by Richard Crayshaw's grandfather, also called Richard. Richard's younger brother William (1788- 1867), who lived at Caversham Park near Reading, became sole proprietor of the Cyfarthfa works upon the death of their grandfather in 1810.

A decisive and brilliant man, William hugely expanded the family business as the expansion of the railways led to increased demand for iron. Richard Crawshaw shared in this prosperity although he seems to have preferred the life of a country gentleman to that of an ironmaster. His Gentleman's Magazine obituary stated that he 'derived from his father a large share in the great ironworks at Cyfarthfa, Merthyr Tydfil, but of late years had retired on a very ample fortune' (July 1859).

Crawshay married Mary, daughter of Francis Homfrey of Hyde, Staffordshire, with whom he had four sons and eight daughters. He lived at Rowfant, Sussex and then leased Honnington hall, Norfolk, from Lord Bayning. Barraud's painting shows him in the grounds of Ottershaw Park, Chertsey, Surrey, which he leased and finally acquired in 1842. Ottershaw was built for Sir Thomas Sewell soon after 1761 by Sir Robert Taylor.

Artist biography:

William Barraud (1810 – 1 Oct 1850) was an English animal painter and illustrator, the brother of Henry Barraud, with whom he collaborated on many works.William was born in Lambeth in London, one of 17 children of William Francis Barraud (1783–1833), a clerk in the Custom House, and Sophia (née) Hull. His paternal grandfather was Paul Philip Barraud, an eminent chronometer maker in Cornhill, and his maternal grandfather, Thomas Hull, a miniature painter. The family was of French Huguenot origin that had come over to England at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. His younger brother Henry Barraud was also a notable artist, and another, Edward, though talented in art did not take it up as a profession.

On leaving school he is said to have become a clerk in the Custom House where his father worked (although there are no records of this), but eventually became a pupil of artist Abraham Cooper. As an animal artist he specialised in painting horses and dogs, exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1829–50, the British Institution from 1828–49, the Society of British Artists and at other venues. His work was popular with huntsman and dog-fanciers. He also produced some historical and landscape paintings.

William shared a studio, from 1835 until his untimely death, with his brother Henry, and collaborated on many subject pictures with himself painting the animals and Henry the figures. Several of these joint works were exhibited at the Royal Academy. The brothers also produced a book together entitled "Sketches of Figures and Animals" (H. Graves and Co. c. 1850). William also collaborated on another book with fellow artist Thomas Fairland (1804–52) called "The book of animals drawn from nature" (C. Tilt, 1846).

In 1841 William married Mary Ratliff and they had a son Clement William (1843–1926), who went on to become a stained-glass designer (for Lavers, Barraud and Westlake), a Jesuit priest, poet and playwright. Mary died soon after the birth and in 1850 William married Margaret Harrison.William died in Kensington, London from dysentery and typhoid fever on 1 October 1850, in his fortieth year.