Description:



Samson, Prize Bull, Cardiff

This idyllic cow portrait in near perfect profile entitled ‘‘Samson' Prize Bull, Cardiff' draws our attention for many reasons, including its highly accessible pastoral simplicity. The bovine in question is a bull, i.e. a male used for breeding purposes who would have been at least age 2. Samson is probably a Gloucester bull, an English breed popular since the 13th c.; and he could have weighed up to 2000 pounds at the time of his portrait. Gloucester cattle are also known for their upswept crescent horns, and the white line across their back and neck, clearly visible here. This bull has justifiably been given the name ‘Samson'—a strong masculine name with biblical connotations referencing a Hebrew man blessed with supernatural strength. Samson here stands at leisure en plein air in a fenced-in field (and he would have needed at least a 2-acre pen to keep him fed) surrounded by trees while the lighting around his feet is stylized and somewhat theatrical. His shape is mostly rectangular, designed to show off his colossal form, including his large bulging brisket (the fatty area south of his neck) and also his large muscular neck and shoulders (including his imposing shoulder hump). His owners choose to have him painted to show him off as a prized possession, an unharnessed bull of great strength who was proudly kept fenced-in on their hilly farm somewhere outside Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

Provenance: Estate of Raymond Keith Kissee

  • Dimensions: 27" x 20" unframed; framed 29.5" x 22.5"

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September 16, 2023 10:00 AM CDT
St. Louis, MO, US

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$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
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