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ID #SA1072279
FOR SALE
£4,800
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Framed Oil Painting of Shire Horses Being Unyoked . W E Millner 1887
For sale by David Wolfenden Antiques
for sale €5,616     $6,096
£4,800
David Wolfenden Antiques

David Wolfenden Antiques

Sellingantiques Verified Since May 2010
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Id #SA1072279
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Framed Oil Painting of Shire Horses Being Unyoked . W E Millner 1887

19th century
Description

W E Millner

Large antique framed oil painting of shire horses being unyoked . W E Millner 1887

Monogram W E M

This painting exhibited Royal Academy 1887 number 397

William Edward Millner is Lincolnshire’s Victorian genre artist. Born in Gainsborough in 1849, the son of a local teacher and artist, Millner was to live and work in the county until his death in 1895. With his life falling directly within the Victorian era his artistic work shows a concentration of influences from both his surroundings and the leading artists of the genre. This talent was recognised within his lifetime as his pictures were shown several times at the Royal Academy and since, with his works being held by leading public art galleries and a significant collection housed at Gainsborough Old Hall Museum.

A painter of rustic genre scenes and animals, especially horses, Millner lived all his life in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. His father, who had the same forenames and who died in 1870, was also a local artist and teacher; he exhibited two pictures at the British Institution in 1845.

Millner exhibited eleven pictures at the Royal Academy between 1869 and 1896 (the last posthumously). Nearly all were genre scenes inspired by the day-to-day life of the Lincolnshire farming community. He is represented in the Tate by a single picture, A Wayside Gossip, dated 1872, and there are a number of paintings at the Gainsborough Old Hall Museum in his native town.

Frame 37ins x 46ins x 3ins

Canvas 30ins x 40ins

Date of Manufacture

David Wolfenden Antiques has dated this Victorian Equestrian Oil Painting to the 1880s.

Independent Date Guide ID 08505953
Dealer's Item Date1880s
Sellingantiques Date1880s
Sellingantiques agingItem 130-150 years old
ResultsDates match
Why Sellingantiques dated this piece to THE 1880s:
Subtle overall craquelure: natural drying and movement of old oil paint.
Pine keyed stretcher with centre bar: late Victorian canvas support.
Monogram lower right: initials in red pigment.
Swept gilt gesso frame: fine age cracking along the relief mouldings.

This Independent Date Guide was compiled by Sellingantiques using its own proprietary system. It works only from the photographs shown on this page and is never told the date the dealer has declared. It is a guide, not a guarantee of age, and occasional errors can occur.

Physical Dimensions
Height
91.4cm (35.98")
Width
117cm (46.06")
Depth
8cm (3.15")
Reference Numbers
Sellingantiques Reference
SA1072279
Dealers Notes

Delivery and Insurance to most parts of UK and Ireland is included in price.

Description
W E Millner

Large antique framed oil painting of shire horses being unyoked . W E Millner 1887

Monogram W E M

This painting exhibited Royal Academy 1887 number 397

William Edward Millner is Lincolnshire’s Victorian genre artist.

“
Born in Gainsborough in 1849, the son of a local teacher and artist, Millner was to live and work in the county until his death in 1895.
David Wolfenden Antiques

With his life falling directly within the Victorian era his artistic work shows a concentration of influences from both his surroundings and the leading artists of the genre. This talent was recognised within his lifetime as his pictures were shown several times at the Royal Academy and since, with his works being held by leading public art galleries and a significant collection housed at Gainsborough Old Hall Museum.

fig 1. A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame.
fig 1. Framed Oil Painting of Shire Horses Being Unyoked . W E Millner 1887

A painter of rustic genre scenes and animals, especially horses, Millner lived all his life in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. His father, who had the same forenames and who died in 1870, was also a local artist and teacher; he exhibited two pictures at the British Institution in 1845.

fig 2. A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame.
fig 2. Framed Oil Painting of Shire Horses Being Unyoked . W E Millner 1887

Millner exhibited eleven pictures at the Royal Academy between 1869 and 1896 (the last posthumously). Nearly all were genre scenes inspired by the day-to-day life of the Lincolnshire farming community. He is represented in the Tate by a single picture, A Wayside Gossip, dated 1872, and there are a number of paintings at the Gainsborough Old Hall Museum in his native town.

Frame 37ins x 46ins x 3ins

Canvas 30ins x 40ins

Date of Manufacture

David Wolfenden Antiques has dated this Victorian Equestrian Oil Painting to the 1880s.

Independent Date Report ID 08505953
Dealer's Item Date1880s
Sellingantiques dating1880s
Sellingantiques agingItem 130-150 years old
ResultsDates match
Why Sellingantiques dated this piece to the 1880s:
Subtle overall craquelure: natural drying and movement of old oil paint.
Pine keyed stretcher with centre bar: late Victorian canvas support.
Monogram lower right: initials in red pigment.
Swept gilt gesso frame: fine age cracking along the relief mouldings.

This is an independent date report produced by Sellingantiques using its own proprietary system. The process uses the photographs shown on this page. The system is never told the date the dealer has declared. This report shows that the two dates corroborate.

Height
91.4cm (35.98")
Width
117cm (46.06")
Depth
8cm (3.15")
Reference Numbers
Sellingantiques Ref
SA1072279
David Wolfenden Antiques
David Wolfenden Antiques
Sellingantiques verified Since May 2010

The home of fine antiques.

Dealer Profile

You can view the stock and full dealer information on the David Wolfenden Antiques Profile Page

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A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame.
1 / 7
Archive I A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame.

Framed Oil Painting of Shire Horses Being Unyoked . W E Millner 1887

Archive II A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame. View II
Archive III A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame. View III
Archive IV A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame. View IV
Archive V A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame. View V
Archive VI A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame. View VI
Archive VII A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame. View VII
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David Wolfenden Antiques

David Wolfenden Antiques
Telephone 028 94 429498 or 07768 128 800
Location
219b Lisnevenagh Road
Antrim
Co. Antrim
Northern Ireland
BT41 2JT
United Kingdom
Dealer Profile Page sellingantiques.co.uk/dw
Verified Since May 2010
Items For Sale 125
Items Sold 883
David Wolfenden Antiques
David Wolfenden Antiques
Verified Since May 2010
View Dealer Info
Location: 219b Lisnevenagh Road, Antrim, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, BT41 2JT, United Kingdom
Profile: sellingantiques.co.uk/dw
Verified
May 2010
For Sale
125
Sold
883
A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame.
Framed oil painting of shire horses being unyoked . W E Millner 1887
Ref: SA1072279
A late nineteenth-century oil painting depicting shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape, set within a heavily carved gilt frame.
Detail View 1
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Archival Detail

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Cataloguer’s note

Written by Sellingantiques from the dealer’s photographs and listing
  • ObjectOil Painting
  • Period19th century
  • StyleVictorian Realism
  • MaterialOil Paint, Canvas, Gilt Wood
  • ColourWarm Brown
  • MotifsShire horses, Gilt ornate frame, Rural landscape backdrop, Equestrian harness
  • SizeH 91.4 cm (36 in) x W 117 cm (46 in) x D 8 cm (3 in)

This piece is an oil painting on canvas housed in a heavily carved, ornate gilt wood frame with deep relief moulding and corner cartouches. Created in the Victorian Realism style, the artwork depicts shire horses and a handler in a rural landscape with a warm brown palette, rendered in oil paint. The visible details include three large shire horses in harnesses standing on dark earth next to a figure in a cap and jacket, set against a muted sky and bare trees under daylight. The painting measures 91.4 cm high, 117 cm wide, and 8 cm deep. Positioned in an English Country House design scheme, the painting functions effectively above a sideboard in a dining room or living space. The composition brings a rustic equestrian motif to interior spaces, pairing traditional nineteenth-century subject matter with a decorative gilded surround suitable for prominent wall placement.

FAQs

Victorian equestrian artwork focuses on accurate depictions of working horses, livestock, and country scenes, reflecting the agricultural foundation of late nineteenth-century Britain.

Paintings from this era were created using oil-based pigments applied to stretched linen or cotton canvas, typically housed in heavily carved wooden frames finished with gold leaf.

Authenticity is assessed by examining natural surface craquelure, age-appropriate oxidation on the back of the canvas, period-correct framing hardware, and signature details.

Large-scale Victorian paintings serve as ideal focal points when positioned above a sideboard, mantelpiece, or console table in traditional or transitional decor schemes.

Keep the painting away from direct sunlight, heating sources, and fluctuating humidity, dusting the frame lightly with a soft brush and using professional conservators for cleaning.
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