Blue Valley Fox Hunt
BY JOHN S. DE MARTELLY
This Lithograph is the end result of many efforts. The artist tells us that its design or
composition was achieved only after a dozen drawings were made.
To those who find solace in thinking ofan artist as a hard-working
economic unit, it is pertinent to note that almost one hundred and
fifty hours were consumed in bringing Blue Valley Fox Hunt to perfection.
(This Limited Edition Original Book Plate/Lithograph, May still be for sale ) see Our Sales sites
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It is easy to gather that the English form of hunting the fox
does not obtain in the Blue Valley of Missouri. “The sport,”
as Mr. de Martelly explains it, “is derived from listening to
the voices of the baying hounds, and from wagering as to the hound in the lead.”
This is, then, mainly an csthetic pleasure, which the fox “bunters” can enjoy as they sit at their ease.
The Breughel-like quality of Blue Vi the wonderful feeling for
distance as in the lithograph peculiarly attractive to those
whose appreciation is stimulated by finding some immediately
recognizable traditional thread. The dimensions of the chase are
admirably shown by the subtle relationship of the foreground
forms to the middle and far distances. The feeling of dawn is
conveyed by a pervasive gray that gives the artist ample
opportunity to differentiate the texture of forms.
