262 ANIMAL PAINTERS 



patrons. Among his more influential friends he 

 counted Henry, third Duke of Beaufort. The 

 Duke was something more than a patron to him ; 

 when he recognised the young artist's abihty he 

 generously sent him at his own expense to study 

 at Rome. Horace Walpole, in his Anecdotes of 

 Painting, published in 1782, says that Wootton 

 painted "with consummate skill, animation and 

 truth," and describes him as "a capital master in 

 the branch of his profession to which he chiefly 

 devoted himself" Walpole's opinion has been 

 endorsed by Sir Edwin Landseer. Among the 

 many works by Wootton in the Badminton collec- 

 tion is a small one of a covey of partridges with 

 pointers drawing up followed by men with nets. 



The present Duke, in a communication to the 

 writer, says that Sir Edwin declared this to be "not 

 only a far better picture than he himself had ever 

 painted, but the best animal picture he had ever 

 seen ; that you could see the dog crawling along to 

 the birds." Wootton obtained high fees for his 

 pictures according to the standard ruling during his 

 day. Pilkington states that " for painting a single 

 horse he has been paid forty guineas, and twenty 

 when smaller than life." Forty guineas for the life- 

 size portrait of a race-horse would hardly content 

 an artist of very moderate pretensions in these 

 days. 



