Horatio Henry Couldery

Who was Horatio Henry Couldery?

Horatio Henry Couldery was an English animal painter and illustrator noted especially for his depictions of domestic cats, kittens and dogs. He was born in Lewisham, London, and trained as a cabinetmaker before abandoning that trade to study art at the Royal Academy of Arts, and exhibited there as well as at the British Institution, the Royal Society of British Artists gallery in Suffolk Street, and other notable galleries both in the capital and the regions.

In 1861 he exhibited his first piece at the Royal Academy, entitled "On Dangerous Ground." This painting, which features two tabby kittens discovering a table with fish, is in the collection at Glanmore National Historic Site in Belleville, Ontario Canada. Glanmore has an artifact collection known as the Couldery Collection. Horatio H. Couldery's brother and sister-in-law Bertram and Cecilia Couldery travelled to Belleville in the 1880s and kept a second home there. Their collection of fine art, decorative objects and furniture was given to the City of Belleville in the 1950s and is housed at Glanmore National Historic Site.