SYLVESTER MARTIN
(fl. 1856-1906)
From the Birmingham area, this painter is recorded as living at Handsworth and at Brook Cottage, Hall Green in Birmingham, in the Birmingham Directory between 1872 and 1899. He painted a number of pictures of the Ledbury so presumably he visited the Herefordshire area and he also painted several pictures in Henley-in-Arden. It is possible he was related to A A Martin.
Apart from a few horse portraits Martin would appear to have painted very little other than hunting scenes. He obviously understood hunting and loved hound work – all Martin’s hounds are individuals and full of action. His horses, too, were always well in proportion and full of action.
A particular feature of most of Martin’s pictures is the deliberate way in which he painted the bare branches of the trees with the sky showing through and birds fluttering between them. His pictures are quite tight and carefully finished. He worked more frequently on small canvases and normally signed and frequently inscribed his pictures
