Arthur Wardle (British 1864-1949) 'The chase is better than the catch' Oil on canvas 22 x 28 ins (framed size)

Arthur Wardle was a British artist and animalier painter, he was fascinated with dogs of various breeds, creating rich, naturalistic paintings of domestic pets and hunting animals captured in moments of lifelike movement. 

His work is characterized by its high degree of realism, and is representative of the 19th century interest in detailed artistic representations of animals.

Between 1880 and 1938 Wardle exhibited frequently at the Royal Academy and other venues.

He painted both domestic and wild game; his more exotic subjects, such as leopards, tigers and polar bears were painted from ‘on the spot’ sketches which he made during his visits to London Zoo.

As well as oil painting, Wardle worked extensively in watercolour and pastel and was elected to the Pastel Society in 1911 and became a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour in 1922. In 1931 he held his first one man exhibition at the Fine Art Society.  Wardle also exhibited in Paris.

 His career had been highly successful and his works continue to be sought after. He remains one of the foremost animal painters of the period. Wardle died on 16th July, 1949. He became the Queens Painter and his works have been in the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery and Leeds City Art Gallery among many other galleries and museums.