BC134
Untitled
[Drawings of Horses and Cows]
Two pages torn from a sketchbook.
Page 1: three rows of cows
Row 1: cow in profile with right flank to viewer, foreshortened cow facing front, foreshortened cow showing view of back and right flank
Row 2: two cow heads, both in three quarter profile showing left side of head. Head on left has downturned horns
Row 3: group of three cows back view. Left two stand close together showing right flank, the third is separate, showing left flank
Page 2: inscribed page, two rows of horses
Row 1: three bridled horses heads
Row 2: three horses in profile facing left. Foremost horse with docked tail and clipped mane
Page 2 LR pen FS
Two pages torn from a top spiral-bound sketchbook. Page 1 shows four torn holes from top spiral binding. Pinholes evident in upper corners of both pages.
Private Collection
New Zealand
These pages belonged to Patience Tennent, the artist’s niece.
The pages probably date from Scales’s time at the W. Frank Calderon School of Animal Painting, London, England, which Scales attended 1908-1912. This assumption is based on the accuracy and close observations of the studies and the isolated assemblage of the animals which could indicate they had been brought into the studio, either in London or Norwich.
The cows are economically but convincingly drawn. The drawings of the horses are more anatomically precise and detailed.
The horse with docked tail and clipped mane was possibly a retired field artillery horse.
Flora Scales, The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū, Nelson, New Zealand, 2018, pg 8 (black and white)