Victorian Oil Painting – View Halloo (The Berkeley Hunt) c.1880 🎨🐎🦊

By Charles Faulkner (British, active 1874–1900)**

(This work is No. 2 of a 4-painting hunting series. The other three paintings are available individually—please message us if you wish to purchase the complete set.)

Subject & Medium 🎨

A finely rendered oil on board depicting the dramatic “View Halloo” moment in an English foxhunt. With characteristic Victorian precision, Faulkner brings the riders, hounds, and Gloucestershire countryside vividly to life, creating a dynamic and historically faithful sporting narrative from the late 19th century.

Composition & Technique ✨

Faulkner composes the scene with powerful forward movement and layered visual drama:

Foreground

• Hounds portrayed with exceptional anatomical accuracy, captured in full pursuit.

Middle Ground

• Riders in traditional scarlet coats advance across pasture and hedgerow.

• One horseman clears a jump mid-air, while another appears dramatically unseated behind foliage.

Background

• A mist-softened view of the Cotswold–Berkeley Vale, achieved with muted tonal transitions.

Technique

• Crisp, exacting figure work contrasts beautifully with broader, atmospheric landscape strokes.

• This mix of precision and looseness gives the scene both clarity and momentum.

About the Hunt Scene 🐕💨🦊

This painting captures the electrifying second when the fox breaks cover:

• A huntsman signals with the raised whip, calling the traditional “View Halloo!”

• Hounds surge into action; riders pivot, leap, and rally with urgency.

• The fox appears darting across the left—a small but essential spark of narrative tension.

• Winter trees, rolling pasture, and distant hills situate the scene unmistakably within the historic Berkeley Hunt territory of Gloucestershire.

A vivid and kinetic document of Victorian countryside sport.

About the Artist ✍️🎨

Charles Faulkner (fl. 1874–1900) was an admired British sporting painter known for:

• Lively, accurate depictions of horses and hounds

• Authentic representation of 19th-century hunt attire and fieldcraft

• Atmospheric English rural landscapes

• Strong, story-driven compositions

His works remain highly collectible among enthusiasts of equestrian, sporting, and Victorian narrative art.

Signature 🖋️

Signed “Faulkner” lower left, in line with his established period signature.

Framing 🖼️

Presented in a newly fitted Rococo-style gilt frame with scrolling ornament and floral detailing, paired with AR70 museum-quality protective glass.
The warm gold finish complements the scarlet coats, dark horses, and earthy greens, enhancing both atmosphere and value while offering a striking period-appropriate presentation.

Framed Dimensions

41 cm (W) × 26.5 cm (H) × 4 cm (D)

Ideal for libraries, sporting rooms, country homes, and refined interior schemes.

Provenance 📜

• Gloucestershire Art & Antiques Dealer

• Harriet Wynter, Interior Decorations & Antiques, Brighton

• Private Collection

• Curated and catalogued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD

A strong and reassuring provenance, supporting long-term desirability.

Why You’ll Love It ❤️🐎

✅ Museum-exhibited Victorian hunt scene
✅ High-energy narrative with fox, riders, hounds, and landscape all in motion
✅ Signed example by a respected Victorian sporting artist
✅ Rich period authenticity and historical character
✅ Beautiful Rococo-style gilt frame — fully display ready
✅ Excellent for collectors of equestrian, countryside, and sporting art
✅ Strong decorative presence

Condition Report 🔍

• Stable board support

• Fine, stable craquelure

• Small areas of paint loss in the sky

• Light abrasions to the outer edges

• Aged varnish and surface soiling expected of 19th-century oils