Original works of art

Although Thomas Percy Earl was the son of the accomplished Victorian animal and sporting painter George Earl, nephew of Thomas and brother of the major dog painter Maud, comparatively little is known of his life and career. This is principally because he did not exhibit at the public venues but relied almost exclusively on commissioned work.

Thomas Percy Earl specialized in painting horses, dog and occasionally landscapes. Most of Earl’s works are portraits of single horses, both of privately owned hunters and of racehorses, but he also executed paintings showing several horses, often with hounds. A fine quality portrait of the Doncaster Cup winner ‘Colorado Kid’ is recorded as are ‘Sceptre’ the Oaks winner in 1901 and ‘William III’, the Ascot Gold Cup winner in 1902. Sir Victor Sassoon had his first victories in English Classic races with ‘Exhibitionist’ and Sir Victor commissioned Earl to paint the filly’s portrait.

Other fine examples include ‘Precipitation’ owned by Lady Zia Wernher and the bay colt ‘Seminole’ raced by Mr T Widener. The public at large could see Earl’s work in Vanity Fair to which he contributed equestrian cartoons. He also painted scenes of the Grand National of 1927 and 1928

Sally Mitchell says of him: " His work is free and strong and he is amongst the better portraitists of his time.".