Dimensions: support: 330 x 613 mm frame: 448 x 722 x 71 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Charles Cooper Henderson's "Sportsmen in Scottish Dress Driving to the Moors," held at the Tate. It's quite a dynamic scene, isn't it? The horses seem to be galloping right off the canvas! What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: For me, it's about understanding the social context. Consider the rise of leisure and sporting culture in 19th-century Britain. This image celebrates that privilege and access to the countryside, doesn't it? Who gets to participate in this kind of "sport"? Editor: Right, it portrays a very specific segment of society enjoying a specific activity. It makes me wonder about the broader implications of land ownership and access at that time. Curator: Precisely! And how artists like Henderson contributed to shaping perceptions and idealizing this lifestyle. It prompts us to question the narrative being presented. Editor: That's a perspective I hadn't fully considered. I'll definitely look at similar artworks with a more critical eye now. Curator: Glad to hear that, it is important to question what you see in art.
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/henderson-sportsmen-in-scottish-dress-driving-to-the-moors-t03428
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Four sportsmen are seen in a cart. They are similarly dressed in plaids, two of them wearing tam o'shanters and the other two Glengarry bonnets. The small spring cart is laden with game bags, a retriever, a flask and a hamper. This suggests that the passengers are off to share a day's shooting. The cart is drawn by a horse within its shafts but a pony has been hitched alongside it, probably to help pull the heavy load up the hills. Gallery label, January 1997