James Bateman

Highland Scene

1844

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Not on display

Artist: James Bateman 1815–1849
Medium: Oil paint on wood
Dimensions: Support: 203 × 254 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Presented anonymously in memory of Mrs M. Bernard 1981
Reference: T03210

Display caption

Improvements made to the mechanisms of firearms enabled bird-shooting to become a popular sport from the late eighteenth century onwards. The somewhat lonely recreation of the sportsmen shown here, in a remote Scottish Highland landscape, is in sharp contrast to the country house shooting parties which became so fashionable in the late Victorian era.
This broadly handled oil sketch does not seem to relate to any finished picture although it is typical of Bateman's output of small-scale sporting scenes. The subject-matter and technique betray the influence of Sir Edwin Landseer in whose studio Bateman worked briefly during the 1840s.

Gallery label, September 2004

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Catalogue entry

T03210 HIGHLAND SCENE 1844

Inscribed ‘J. Bateman/' 44’ bottom right
Oil on panel, 7 15/16 × 10 1/32 (20.2 × 25.5)
Presented anonymously in memory of Mrs M. Bernard 1981

Although this freely handled oil sketch does not seem to relate to any finished picture it is typical of Bateman's output of small, loosely handled sporting subjects. The landscape cannot be identified but the subject matter and the technique betray the influence of Sir Edwin Landseer in whose studio Bateman worked briefly during the 1840s.

Published in:
The Tate Gallery 1980-82: Illustrated Catalogue of Acquisitions, London 1984