LIONEL DALHOUISE ROBERTSON EDWARDS | Three mares at the National Stud, Dorset
Three mares, Myrobella, Mombasa and Joyce at the National Stud, Sandley Stud, Dorset
Oil on Canvas
76 x 127 cms / 30 x 50 inches
Signed (lower right)
Lionel Edwards (1878–1966), one of Britain’s most celebrated sporting artists, captures grey horses grazing in a sunlit meadow, set against the rolling English countryside. Commissioned by Peter Burrell, CBE (1905–1999), Director of the National Stud from 1937 to 1971, the painting reflects Edwards’s mastery of equestrian subjects and pastoral settings. Combining anatomical precision with lyrical atmosphere, the work exemplifies his role as a foremost chronicler of 20th-century sporting life.
Lionel Edwards (1878–1966) was one of Britain’s most beloved sporting artists, renowned for his dynamic and richly detailed oil paintings that captured the spirit of country life. Born in Clifton, near Bristol, Edwards was raised in a hunting and horse-loving family -passions that would define both his lifestyle and his art.
Trained at the Heatherley School of Fine Art and later at Frank Calderon’s School of Animal Painting, Edwards developed a strong foundation in animal anatomy and composition. While he worked in various media, including watercolor and illustration, it was in oil painting that his love of hunting, horses, and the British countryside found its most dramatic expression.
His oil works often depict fox hunting, point-to-point races, and cavalry scenes with vivid movement and atmospheric depth. Unlike his looser watercolors, Edwards’s oils were more detailed and formal, often commissioned by private patrons or sporting institutions. His ability to render horses in motion - ears pricked, muscles tensed, hooves mid-air - was matched by his skill in capturing the rolling landscapes of rural England.
A prolific illustrator and author as well, Edwards contributed to The Illustrated London News, Country Life, and numerous sporting books, but his oil paintings remain central to his artistic legacy. They are housed in private collections, sporting clubs, and occasionally museums, admired for their authenticity and the sheer vitality of their scenes.
Lionel Edwards painted well into his later years, leaving behind a legacy as one of the 20th century’s foremost chroniclers of Britain’s equestrian tradition.
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