A Hound Jumping
c. 1743
Medium
graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 12.5 x 9.1 cm (4 15/16 x 3 9/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of William B. O'Neal
Accession Number
1995.52.160
Art Historical Context
James Seymour’s *A Hound Jumping* (c. 1743) captures a single, energetic moment in graphite on wove paper. At just 12.5 by 9.1 centimeters, the intimate drawing invites close looking, revealing the artist’s quick, sure lines that convey the hound’s powerful leap and alert expression. Seymour, an eighteenth-century British sporting artist, specialized in equestrian and hunting subjects, and this sketch reflects the period’s growing fascination with field sports among the landed gentry. Created during the Georgian era, when fox hunting became both pastime and status symbol, the drawing likely s...