STEEL ENGRAVING – “THE PASTURE, OSBORNE” from the painting by T. S. Cooper, engraved by C. Cousen, printed in 1883.  This engraving is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 7 1/4” x 10”, and is matted to 12” x 16” for easy framing.

Cooper is facile princeps in England as a painter of cattle; he is a man who in his early days had to battle with the roughness of the world, beginning as a scene painter in a provincial theatre, passing on to earn a precarious subsistence in Brussels by taking portraits, and afterwards reaching Holland, where the works of the great animal-painters of the Dutch school so excited his admiration, that he determined henceforth to devote his energies to this special branch of Art.  Taking P. Potter and A. Cuyp for his models, he appears in reality to have formed his style more on that of Cuyp; some pictures he has exhibited are not surpassed by his great prototype in purity and freshness of color, in exquisite finish, and truthfulness to nature.  He particularly excels in his representations of evening effects: a group of cows standing in, or on the margin of, some sedgy pool, with the setting sun heightening the rich tints of their hides, changing the pasture into a “field of gold,” warming the cold green of broad dock leaves, and throwing into shadow the masses of long, tapering rushes.  The charming little picture of “The Pasture, Osborne,” has never been exhibited; it was a commission from the Queen of England, and was painted at Osborne in 1848; the cow in the group was presented to Her Majesty by the Corporation of Guernsey, when the queen visited the Channel Island; the animal is a beautiful specimen of the Alderney Breed, and was a great favorite, we understand, with its royal owner; on the forehead of the cow is a “V” distinctly marked; a peculiarity, it may be presumed, which led to the presentation; the other animals are its calves.  The picture is painted with acknowledged truth and delicacy; the landscape introduces a portion of “the Farm” at Osborne, under the quiet tones of a summer mid-day.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes, which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.

Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates.  Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence.  This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently.  Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.

Engravings, and lithographs are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one.  Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated, thus giving the buyer an idea of its age.