The Deer Stealer

James Ward painted "The Deer Stealer" in 1823, combining his mastery of animal painting with narrative drama. Ward, who had been the leading animal painter in Britain since the death of George Stubbs, brought a Romantic intensity to subjects that earlier painters had treated more prosaically. His powerful rendering of animals in dramatic landscapes extended the British tradition of animal painting into the Romantic era.

Ward renders the confrontation between the poacher and the deer with dramatic intensity and precise anatomical knowledge. The dark, atmospheric landscape setting and the dynamic composition create a scene of tension and natural violence characteristic of Romantic animal painting.