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Framed print

Curator's Choice: A Pen of Theaves

Whitford, Richard, c.1821–1890

Artist Richard Whitford paints traditional rural life with this familiar image of a sheep herder and his flock standing on a hill overlooking the vast English countryside. Whitford was a specialist in animal portraiture and his paintings were highly sought after, with Queen Victoria owning several of his pieces at Shaw Farm in Windsor.

The collection is home to many other naturalist paintings from a range of artists depicting the evergreen countryside, its livestock and rural life.

Museum of English Rural Life

The Museum of Rural English Life was established in 1951 and is dedicated to collecting artworks that represent the lifestyle and culture of rural England. The museum is run by the University of Reading, growing out of the university's long academic connections with agriculture.

The collection holds around 25,000 artefacts which record England's rural life since 1750. Browse this bold selection of livestock portraiture available as high-quality prints and image licences.

Artworks from the University of Reading Art Collection are also available for licensing and print reproduction on the Art UK shop.

Gifts

Livestock portraiture at The MERL

Please Keep One Absolute Unit Apart

The Duck Pic Day Duckling

Merchandise
Richard Whitford ‘Prize Pig, Royal Agricultural Show, Cardiff’ mug
£8.00

Add View
Merchandise
‘A Small Black Cow’ mug
£8.00

Add View
Merchandise
Richard Whitford ‘A Leicester Ram’ mug
£8.00

Add View
Merchandise
James Clark Senior ‘Hereford Ox’ mug
£8.00

Add View

Art prints and custom framed prints

Each of the following artworks can be purchased as unframed prints in a variety of sizes. We also have an array of high quality frames that are custom built for each print.

Showing 35 artworks

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A Boy with a Picnic
A Four Shear Ram
A Hereford Ox
A Hereford Ox in a Stall
A Leicester Ram
A Longhorn Cow
A Man on Horseback
A Pen of Theaves
A Polled Heifer
A Shorthorn Bull
A Shorthorn Cow
A Shorthorn Cow
A Shorthorn Cow with a Figure
A Small Black Cow
A Woodsman and His Dog in a Wintery Landscape
Brindled Cattle
'Count Lavender'
Gloucester Old Spot Pig
Hereford Ox
Highland Landscape
Man With a Horse and a Greyhound
Pond at Woodmansterne, Surrey
Prize Pig, Royal Agricultural Show, Cardiff
Romantic Landscape