English, 1848-1896

British painter John Sargent Noble was born in 1848. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools and later at Landseer. While many artists of the period concentrated on equestrian art, Noble along with George Earl and Lucy Waller ventured into the painting of dogs as subject.

Noble’s success is partially accredited to the migration of peoples from rural areas into urban settings. Longing for nature and the gentle comfort of the outdoors, Noble’s paintings helped to fulfill these needs.

He exhibited at the Royal Academy and was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1872.

A year later, Noble began his collaboration with Walter Foster, another emerging painter of sports dogs. Together they presented the work Otter Hunting on the River Lowther at Westmoreland at Suffolk Street. The work received such glowing reviews that the two men continued their partnership producing three more successful pieces: Partridge Shooting, Wild Duck Shooting and Forager’s Return which was exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists in 1876.