JAMES LODER (Bath, 1784 - 1854)."Peregrine Pickle, 1835.Oil on canvas.Signed and dated in the lower right corner.Size: 59 x 68 cm; 66 x 76 cm. (frame).The painter James Loder was a prolific painter of racehorses, a genre of great importance in English painting in the 18th and 19th centuries. The great tradition of equestrian competitions in England, where the monarchy and the aristocracy gathered in events that went (and still go) far beyond simple sporting competition, undoubtedly favoured the painting of horses and the specialisation of painters in this genre. The English greatly appreciated the naturalistic depiction of animals and the works were often conceived as true portraits of these racing heroes.Although Loder was a highly appreciated painter in his day, very little is known about his life. He lived and worked in Bath in the late Georgian and early Victorian periods, although his style remained rooted in the former. He painted numerous racehorses and frequented the races of south-east England and south Wales. His best works, including the present work, date from the 1930s and 1940s and show a characterisation of both the equine and human figures that is full of liveliness and naturalness. James Loder was the father of Edwin Loder, also a racehorse painter.In this portrait of the horse Peregrine Pickle, the slender animal, depicted at a walk, and his jockey are set against a broad landscape that undoubtedly represents a racetrack. The uniform expanse of grass and the somewhat cloudy sky help to focus the viewer's attention on the protagonists of the painting.