"Happy Are They Who Hunt For Their Own Pleasure"

....and not to astonish others

by Snaffles

Goutelette, Open Edition Print





Paper Size: 8 x 11 ins / 21 x 28 cm

This wonderful hunting scene shows the field following the hounds in full cry, while elderly and stout members go slowly through a gateway. The remarque shows an overly confident horseman having an embarrassing fall over large timber. The caption Happy are those who hunt for their own pleasure/And not to astonish others is taken from one of the humorous sporting sketches of Robert Smith Surtees (1805-64). Surtees was a constant inspiration to Snaffles, who painted his protagonist, John Jorrocks, more than any other real or imagined character. The title is a good reflection of Snaffles approach to hunting: strongly averse to what he called brag, his attitude was on the whole sensible and conservative. He used the caption on a number of prints, the first being one of his earliest successes in 1912. The print reproduced here was issued in 1926.




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