Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (9)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (13)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (8) (1)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (11)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (10)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (8)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (12)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (7)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (2)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (1)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (5)

Snaffles 'The Finest View in Europe' (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version) (4)

Snaffles ‘The Finest View in Europe’ (rarest version with hands and whip handle) & ‘The Worst View in Europe’ (rarest version)

Charlie Johnson Payne, Snaffles (British, 1884-1967)

‘The Finest View in Europe’ & ‘The Worst View in Europe’, circa 1921/1922, both signed in pencil and with snaffle bits blindstamp, printed and heavily hand coloured, in later frames.

Provenance: Private Collection, U.K.

This version of The Finest View is the earliest and rarest of the print for which Snaffles is probably best known. It features Major Henry Hawkins, M.F.H. Atherstone 1920-1922, on his favourite hunter, Grey Dawn. In later versions, the hands and whip do not feature in the image. In this, the earliest version, they do feature, as during this period riders sat back at the fences, with the idea of driving the horse at the obstacle. With the introduction of the forward seat, the perspective was slightly altered and the horse’s neck and ears were the nearest objects in view.

This version of The Worst View is the rarest of two.

It is exceptionally rare to find the rarest versions of The Finest and The Worst Views remaining together, fresh to the market since 1922.

SKU: MJSA0084 Category: Snaffles

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Dimensions: 44.5 x 74.5cm (excluding frame) & 45 x 75cm (excluding frame)

Our Snaffles works are also available through our Selling Antiques page.

Footnote

Snaffles was born Charlie Johnson Payne in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire into a family of eight children. Although little is known of his early life, his interest in horses and soldiers began when he was quite young and was to stay with him forever; it is this interest that inspired him to become one of Britain’s favourite military and sporting artists.

Success came in the 1920s and 30s, after a slow and difficult early start. Snaffles married his wife Lucy in 1915, and much of his commercial success must be attributed to her financial management of his work. He travelled to France during the First World War and worked as a freelance journalistic artist, his sketches were illustrated in ‘The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News’, and after the war his work continued to appear in this publication. Many of his images, particularly military, were inspired by his lifelong friend, Major Taffy Walwyn.

With Lucy and Walwyn, Snaffles travelled India in 1927 and again in 1934/35, and drew upon his experiences there to produce his polo and pig-sticking images. His travels to Ireland bought forth a wealth of images featuring point-to-point scenes, and his regular visits to Aintree to watch the Grand National inspired racing images.

But for most it is hunting for which Snaffles is best remembered. The humorous and often cartoon-like images that span almost his whole life encapsulate the colour and excitement of the sport, and the indignities that the rider often has to suffer during the thrill of the chase!

Snaffles, Charlie Johnson Payne, died in 1967, leaving behind him a fine record of sporting, racing and military life spanning the two World Wars. These images are enjoyed and collected as enthusiastically today as they were when they were originally produced.