George Henry Laporte

A Master of the Royal Buckhounds Clearing a Fence on a Grey Hunter.

George Henry Laporte (c. 1799, London (?) – 23 October 1873, London) was an English animal painter. He specialized in horses, mostly of the Arabian variety. His works depict scenes from hunting, racing and other sporting events, as well as animal still-lifes.

His birthplace is generally given as Hanover. This likely involves some confusion resulting from his employment with the King of Hanover, who was a member of the British royal family, as there appears to be no evidence that his parents were ever there or that he was adopted.

Life and work His father was John Laporte, a noted watercolorist and etcher of Huguenot descent, who was also his teacher.

His first exhibit came in 1818 at the British Institution. Later, he was one of the founding members of the Royal Society of British Artists and was a regular contributor to their exhibitions at the Suffolk Street Gallery. He also continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy, although the Society was meant to be an alternative to it.

In 1831, he became one of the first members of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, for which he provided clever sketches of hunting scenes and cavalry groups. His sister, Mary Ann Laporte, also became a painter of some note.

He died suddenly, at the approximate age of seventy-four.