Theophilus Levett and a Favorite Hunter

James Ward, 1769–1859

1817

Oil on canvas

Yale Center for British Art

Theophilus Levett, on horseback, surveys the hunt from a hilltop, with his hunter and a fox visible, while the Trent Valley landscape unfolds below. The Levett family of Staffordshire was on close terms with James Ward and bought and commissioned a number of works from him. Here, Theophilus Levett has climbed a hill, high above the rest of the hunt, where he cuts a heroic and commanding figure, the mud spattered on his coat serving as a reminder of the hard riding he has done. Only he and his hunter can see the fox, which is running over the hill on the right to escape the hounds in the valley below. The view of the Trent Valley shows the artist’s close study of the landscapes of Peter Paul Rubens. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection