Raymond Sheppard and Horses

 

"The White Team" was exhibited at
The Royal Academy in 1944 and sold for use as a calendar

It's Christmas and you might have received an annual back in 1955. If it was Swift Annual No. 2 (published in 1955) you might have seen the article I'm focussing on today (as well as some illustrations and a comic strip by Frank Bellamy).  "Horses at work" focussed on the work horses of 1955.

Swift Annual No. 2 [1955], p.22

The article starts by telling us the true story of Gracie the Shire horse and Charlie her driver for a brewery. One day Charlie collapses and Gracie automatically senses something and takes him back to the brewery where his life is saved. Gracie's name was placed on the Animals Roll of Honour and the RSPCA suggested she be retired and enjoy life on the Isle of Wight. 

Swift Annual No. 2 [1955], p.23

If you can read the caption in the above picture you'll see that Shires are so nimble they can work "between narrow rows of cabbages without treading on one!". We then learn there are four breeds of draught horses in Britain: the Shire, the Clydesdale, the Suffolk Punch and the Percheron. The article writer tells us that some milk rounds still have horses and they remember exactly where to stop at each house. What a shame we couldn't continue such a neat way of doing things. The author recommended that  "he will love the apples and carrots you bring him as tit-bits".

Swift Annual No. 2 [1955], p.24

The article ends by explaining that approximately 14,000 pit ponies are still used in the mines. However they are often retired early. Lastly we find out some farm animals love nothing more than frisking freely in a summer's evening.

I have checked Swift Annuals #1, #3 and #4 and they have no illustrations by Sheppard. 

The oil painting at the head of this article was Sheppard's entry in 1944 to the Royal Academy's 176th exhibition. His was # 862 "The White Team" and at the time he was living at 361, Watford Way, Hendon,  N.W.4. Interestingly the contents listing says this was displayed in the "Water Colour and Tempera" section, displayed in the South Rooms. The exhibition ran from Saturday 29 April to Monday 7 August 1944 and cost a shilling to enter - the same price as the catalogue. Whether these dates were stuck too, I don't know - the Second World war may have interfered! There were many familiar names exhibited - thanks to the RA for putting the catalogue online. Sheppard also exhibited in 1946, 1950, 1952 and lastly 1955 to my knowledge.

But let's not end there. Here are some other drawings, paintings and sketches of horses by Raymond Sheppard.

Cart Horse 1935 - note the outline of the head grazing

Cart Horse - labelled "Goldalming 1935"

The nomenclature of a horse

Skeleton... drawn at Natural History Museum

Skull of stallion

You can see the extensive research Raymond Sheppard undertook in his animal studies not just at London Zoo but in Goldaming, Surrey (I presume it's the location and not the horse's name!) and the Natural History Museum. 

Wagon and Horses (in Oil)

Wagon and Horses (Watercolour)

The oil painting I captured from an auction site sold in 1989 - sorry it's not too detailed - but hopefully the gorgeous watercolour makes up for it. Was the latter a colour study for the oil version? I don't know.

Here's a beautiful watercolour from another angle 

Watercolour of a team ploughing

Lastly Sheppard was so talented in many media and the last item I want to show you became a greeting card so it seems appropriate that I say Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you at this point

 

Greeting card

'Scraperboard' version