Henry Collins Bispham (American, 1841-1882), Shepherd with Mule, Cattle, and Sheep

Oil on canvas (lined), signed at lower left, presented in a giltwood frame.

Stretcher size 22 1/2 x 45 in.; Frame dimensions 28 5/8 x 51 in.

Private Collection from an Equestrian Farm, Moore County, North Carolina

Henry Collins Bispham was a painter of animals in landscape, born in Philadelphia, where he spent much of his life, as well as periods in New York and Paris. He studied in Philadelphia under the noted landscape painter William Trost Richards and later continued his training in Paris with Otto Weber.

Bispham became known for his carefully observed depictions of animals set within atmospheric landscapes. Art critic Henry T. Tuckerman praised his “excellent pictures” of animals in landscape, noting they were rendered with “great authenticity and fine feeling.” Bispham exhibited widely, including at the National Academy of Design, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Brooklyn Art Association, Boston Art Club, Century Association, and Philadelphia Sketch Club, as well as internationally at the Royal Academy in London and the Paris Salons.

Some compromising to the paint from the wax lining, several areas of retouch, yellowing to the varnish.