WW2 Hunting Painting – The Badsworth Hunt on Foot, Easingwold c1943

WWII 1943 George Anderson Short Badsworth Hunt Easingwold Watercolour

George Anderson Short (1856–1945) The Badsworth Hunt on Foot, Easingwold, 1943

Signed Wartime Yorkshire Sporting Watercolour

Highlights

• Original British sporting watercolour painted during the Second World War.

• Depicts the Badsworth Hunt assembled on foot in 1943.

• Current catalogue identification associates the scene with Easingwold and a Boxing Day meet.

• Signed and dated “G. A. Short 1943” lower right.

• Titled “The Badsworth Hunt on Foot” on the reverse.

• Painted during the artist’s late eighties.

• Atmospheric winter palette of ochre, grey, brown and cool blue.

• Provenance includes the Lincoln Fine Art Sale at Golding Young in 2023.

• Privately exhibited in Nottinghamshire and Shropshire.

• Recently reframed in a Larson-Juhl gold-leaf moulded frame.

• Conservation mount and AR70 low-reflection, UV-protective glass.

• Ready to hang and display.

Introduction

An original signed wartime watercolour by British sporting artist George Anderson Short depicting the Badsworth Hunt assembled on foot during the winter of 1943.

Currently catalogued as The Badsworth Hunt on Foot, Easingwold, the work records huntsmen, followers and foxhounds gathered within an open Yorkshire landscape. Its restrained colours and measured composition capture the stillness of a winter morning during one of the most difficult years of the Second World War.

Short completed the painting when he was in his late eighties. Despite its relatively late date within his career, the watercolour retains the precise observation of animals, figures and rural life for which his sporting subjects are known.

Catalogue Details

Artist: George Anderson Short.

Artist’s recorded dates: 1856–1945.

Title: The Badsworth Hunt on Foot, Easingwold.

Date: 1943.

Medium: Watercolour on paper.

School: British School.

Genre: Sporting, hunting and rural social history.

Region represented: Yorkshire.

Signed: “G. A. Short 1943” lower right.

Verso title: “The Badsworth Hunt on Foot.”

Frame: Larson-Juhl gold-leaf moulded frame.

Mount: Conservation-grade white mount with gold border.

Glazing: AR70 low-reflection, UV-protective glass.

Catalogue Note

Short arranges the figures and hounds across an open winter landscape, allowing generous areas of ground and sky to create space around the gathering.

The foxhounds provide the principal sense of movement. Their varied positions and alert poses contrast with the composed figures standing nearby.

Transparent watercolour washes establish the cool atmosphere. Earth ochres, soft browns and muted greens describe the ground and hedgerows, while grey and pale blue convey the wintry sky.

The restrained palette and carefully spaced composition give the work a quiet documentary character. Rather than concentrating upon speed or pursuit, Short depicts the social and ceremonial moment before activity begins.

The Badsworth Hunt

The Badsworth Hunt was one of the established foxhound packs of Yorkshire. Its historic territory was associated with the countryside around Badsworth, Pontefract and surrounding districts.

The pack’s kennels were historically located at Thorpe Audlin near Pontefract. The Badsworth Hunt later merged with the Bramham Moor Hunt in 2002.

The current catalogue history identifies the present scene as an Easingwold Boxing Day meet attended by hounds from the Thorpe Audlin kennels. Major Vernon Hugh Gamester and Charles Lyon have also been associated with the event in later catalogue information.

The shorter title written on the reverse, The Badsworth Hunt on Foot, securely identifies the hunt and the nature of the gathering. The additional location and historical details should be understood as later catalogue identifications pending further documentary confirmation.

Wartime Context

The painting was completed in 1943, when Britain was experiencing wartime restrictions, military mobilisation and considerable pressure upon rural communities.

Country sports and their associated gatherings were affected by shortages, transport restrictions, military service and the changing demands placed upon agricultural land.

The title’s reference to the hunt proceeding “on foot” gives the work a distinctive wartime character. It documents the gathering without presenting a conventional mounted hunting scene.

Short records neither drama nor spectacle. Instead, the figures and hounds appear composed within the cold landscape, creating an image of continuity and communal ritual during a period of national uncertainty.

The Artist

George Anderson Short was born at Kirkharle in Northumberland in 1856.

His family later moved to Halifax, where he worked as a carpet designer at Dean Clough Mills. This professional background may have contributed to the firm draughtsmanship and decorative understanding visible throughout his watercolours.

Short moved to Snaith in 1907 and returned to Halifax approximately twenty years later. His work became closely associated with Yorkshire and northern English rural life.

He painted in both oils and watercolours, concentrating upon sporting scenes, foxhound meets, gamekeepers, wildfowl, agricultural subjects and local views.

The present watercolour was created close to the end of his long career. Its signed 1943 date makes it an engaging example of his late work and a visual record of Yorkshire sporting life during the Second World War.

Signature and Inscription

The painting is signed and dated “G. A. Short 1943” in the lower-right corner.

The reverse bears the title “The Badsworth Hunt on Foot.”

The visible signature, date, verso title and documented 2023 auction appearance collectively support the present artist and subject identification.

Framed Presentation

The watercolour has recently been reframed using conservation-grade presentation materials.

It is housed in a Larson-Juhl gold-leaf moulded frame, selected to complement the muted earth colours and period character of the composition.

A white conservation mount with a narrow gold border surrounds the painting. AR70 low-reflection glass reduces glare, improves viewing clarity and provides UV protection.

The frame, mount and glazing are in pristine presentation condition, and the painting is ready to hang.

Provenance

Private collection, Yorkshire.

Lincoln Fine Art Sale, Golding Young, established 1864, February 2023.

Titled on the reverse “The Badsworth Hunt on Foot.”

Exhibited with Nottinghamshire Dandy and Fine Interiors, curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

Catalogue number 47 in “Fields in Waiting: Rural Traditions During Wartime.”

Privately loaned and exhibited at the Famous Lord Hill Museum, Shropshire, Autumn 2025.

Dimensions

Framed width: 58.5 cm / approximately 23 inches.

Framed height: 48.5 cm / approximately 19.1 inches.

Framed depth: 3.5 cm / approximately 1.4 inches.

All measurements are approximate.

Condition Report

The watercolour remains in very good overall condition.

Its surface is clean and stable, and the colours remain bright and evenly preserved.

Some minor foxing marks are visible within the upper sky area. These are consistent with the age and paper medium and do not detract significantly from the composition.

No major tears, losses or active surface deterioration have been reported.

The painting has been newly mounted using acid-free conservation materials. The Larson-Juhl frame, mount and AR70 glass are in pristine condition.

Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition report.

The framed watercolour will be professionally packed, fully insured and sent using an appropriate tracked delivery service. Specialist protection will be provided for the frame, glass and paper artwork.

Please contact us if you require additional photographs, detailed condition information or an international delivery quotation.

Attribution & Research Notice

The attribution, dating, subject identification, provenance research and historical interpretation contained within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.

The artist and date are supported by the visible signature “G. A. Short 1943.” The title The Badsworth Hunt on Foot is recorded on the reverse. The Easingwold location, Boxing Day identification and names historically associated with the meet follow the available catalogue information and remain subject to further documentary confirmation.

As with all works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.

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